Wednesday night, the New York Giants signed former Washington tight end Ricky Seals-Jones to fill a void in Daniel Jones’ supporting cast on offense
The New York Giants’ bargain free-agent shopping continued Wednesday, agreeing to terms with veteran tight end Rickey Seals-Jones, according to a report from ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Seals-Jones, 27, caught 30 passes for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Washington last season, and should emerge as the Giants‘ projected starting tight end this upcoming season.
Originally an undrafted free agent signing out of Texas A&M by the Arizona Cardinals, Seals-Jones has hauled in 90 career receptions for 1,044 yards and 10 touchdowns through his first 54 games.
What will Seals-Jones bring to the New York Giants’ offense? What are reasonable expectations for his production next season? What grade do the Giants get for this latest free agent addition?
Here’s a look at how the New York Giants’ signing of Ricky Seals-Jones grades out
Projecting Ricky Seals’ role in the New York Giants’ offense
There’s little doubt that new Giants general manager Joe Schoen is beginning a long-overdue rebuild, especially when a player of Seals-Jones’ caliber is among the first players signed in free agency.
The cap-strapped Giants released veteran tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith to create spending flexibility earlier this month, and Evan Engram departs to Jacksonville, where he signed a one-year contract with the Jaguars worth $9 million.
As the NFL’s new league year begins, Seals-Jones is the only NFL-caliber tight end currently on the roster.
Seals-Jones was a wide receiver in college, which gives him the ability to potentially quickly develop into a reliable pass-catcher and perhaps a security blanket for quarterback Daniel Jones.
In all likelihood, the New York Giants will prioritize the tight end position in next month’s NFL Draft, but as the roster currently stands, Seals-Jones would easily be the Week 1 starter.
Grading the New York Giants’ signing of Ricky Seals-Jones
These are the dire straits Dave Gettleman left the New York Giants in.
Rather than compete at the top of the free-agent tight end market, potentially retaining Engram or adding a player with upside like Mo Alie-Cox, or a veteran with Pro Bowl-caliber production such as Robert Tonyan, Gettleman’s mismanagement of the salary cap and poor drafting has left Schoen and the Giants searching the free agent flea market for bodies to fill out the roster.
Seals-Jones joins journeyman center Jon Feliciano, veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor, and guard Mark Glowinski as the New York Giants’ free-agent additions of any substance.
At this stage of his career, that’s likely what Seals-Jones is, and all the Giants need him to be this season.
This is not a roster anywhere close to being capable of competing for a playoff berth, let alone a Super Bowl.
But, Schoen has to date shown restraint in terms of exacerbating the New York Giants’ current financial woes into pain in future years by spending now.
For Schoen, the plan has to be simple; fill out the roster with some cheap veteran players with little to no guaranteed money beyond the 2022 campaign, and hit home runs in this year’s draft, next year’s draft, and spend big in free agency in 2023 to either build around Jones or plan to set an incoming rookie quarterback up for immediate success.
In the meantime, signings like Seals-Jones are about what Schoen is capable of making and all the Giants should have reasonably been expected to make this offseason.