New York Giants OL Nate Solder:
This one has been obvious for a long time now.
Nate Solder just wrapped up what is probably the worst year of his career, gaining a career-low 59.4 PFF grade and allowing six sacks in 15 games played.
While Solder is on a contract next season and set to make $3M, it seems like the NY Giants will not have a need for Solder, with the Giants likely drafting an offensive tackle this offseason.
Releasing Solder will not save the New York Giants any money due to the pay cut he took last offseason, it is better to have a younger tackle like Matt Peart backup a potential rookie rather than Solder.
Solder originally signed with the New York Giants on March 14th of 2018, becoming the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL at the time, boy was he not worth the contract.
With it being likely that no NFL team will want to trade for the soon to be 34-year-old offensive tackle, it will be in the NY Giants best interest to simply release Solder in favor of a younger offensive lineman, especially when you consider that the NY Giants will likely have a new GM next season who will have no connection to Solder like Dave Gettleman did.
The 2022 NFL Draft is full of draft prospects like Evan Neal, Charles Cross, and Ikem Ekwonu, who play Solder’s position while being in the NY Giants range to draft them, making it seem obvious that Solder will not return next season. I personally believe there is a decent chance Solder retires this off-season, due to the fact that he simply cannot play at a starting level anymore, combined with his age.
Regardless of whether Solder decides to retire or not, the NY Giants should do whatever it takes to get Solder off of the roster in favor of younger players.