Several New York Giants veterans could be moving on this offseason, as a new front office aims to revamp the roster and begin an overdue rebuild
This has the potential to be a transformational offseason for the New York Giants.
A new regime is in place, led by new general manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll, and a revamped front office that seems to have a forward-thinking perspective to roster building.
However, the Giants begin this offseason approximately $12 million over the cap, and Schoen has already vowed to trim $40 million in cap space over the course of this offseason.
Schoen and Daboll’s arrival ushers in a new era of New York Giants football and has the potential to finally begin a long overdue rebuild and overhaul of the roster.
It would seem unlikely that the New York Giants are going to be big players in free agency, and it might even prove difficult to retain some of the team’s own free agents, if this offseason is about clearing dead-money, creating cap space, and opening up spending flexibility in 2023 and beyond.
Likewise, some New York Giants players might be better off playing elsewhere in 2022.
Here are four New York Giants players who could use a change of scenery:
4) Nate Ebner, S
Ebner followed Joe Judge from the New England Patriots to the New York Giants, where he spent two seasons as a special teams captain and occasional contributor on defense.
However, it became obvious rather quickly that Ebner’s snaps on defense were a liability.
Over the past two seasons, Ebner produced only 10 total tackles. During the 2020 campaign, the 32-year-old appeared in 39 total snaps on defense, and quarterbacks produced a whopping 118.8 passer rating when targeting him.
It remains to be seen whether Ebner will continue his football career, but if he does, it would seem unlikely that the Giants bring him back and he could perhaps look to follow Judge back to New England or find a role with a team looking for special teams help in 2022.
3) Billy Price, C
The New York Giants will overhaul the offensive line this offseason, and there is a very real chance that the only returning starter in 2022 will be left tackle Andrew Thomas.
Price arrived in East Rutherford via a training camp trade with the Bengals that saw the New York Giants send defensive end B.J. Hill and a conditional seventh-round draft pick to Cincinnati in exchange for the veteran center and former first-round pick.
Forced into action as the starting center following Nick Gates’ devastating injury against Washington in Week 2, Price’s season was a major disappointment.
Price allowed two sacks and 24 pressures, while garnering a 62.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. It is possible the New York Giants bring Price back, but seems far more likely that new general manager Joe Schoen looks in a different direction — perhaps even the NFL Draft to replace the veteran lineman.
2) Jabrill Peppers, S
There’s a chance after rupturing his Achilles tendon last season that Peppers returns to the New York Giants on a one-year “prove it” deal, especially in new defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s scheme.
However, for the cap-strapped Giants, it would seem unlikely that Schoen is going to break the bank if Peppers has offers elsewhere. Especially given that the New York Giants are going to want to quickly expand rising safety Xavier McKinney’s role in his third season and could aim to get Julian Love on the field after a strong finish to the 2021 campaign.
Peppers’ versatility as a blitzer and hybrid moneybacker type player up near the line of scrimmage should give him the opportunity to land somewhere. Prior to his injury, Peppers produced one sack and 10 run-stops to go with his 30 tackles, but opposing quarterbacks had a 121.9 passer rating when targeting him.
But, the Giants have younger safeties with more upside currently on the roster, so both sides might benefit from a change of scenery this offseason.
1) Evan Engram, TE
Perhaps no player on the New York Giants’ roster is more in need of a change of scenery than Evan Engram.
Engram has battled through injuries early in his career, and inconsistency through most of it, but hasn’t quite lived up to his first-round billing in East Rutherford.
This is going to be a strong crop of free-agent tight ends, including Mike Gesicki, Dalton Schultz, David Njoku, and Engram at the top of the market. Likewise, many evaluators inside the league believe there are quality tight end prospects to be had as late as Rounds 3 through 5 of the NFL Draft this spring.
Engram could certainly fit into a role similar to how Brian Daboll used Dawson Knox with the Buffalo Bills in recent years, but it would seem far more likely that he tests the open-market, and the New York Giants go in a different, cheaper direction and mine a tight end either via the draft or second-wave of free agency with upside.