4 biggest free agency busts in NY Giants history

After a poor season last year and a rough start to the preseason and training camp this year, many people have been going hard after NY Giants wide receiver Kenny Golladay. He’s been labeled a bust and one of the worst free-agency moves Big Blue has made in their history.

While we believe it is far too early to put Golladay as one of the worst FA signings ever, it has sparked a rather interesting conversation on which players belong in the ‘worst signings’ category.

Every team has had some horrible signings in their history, especially some of the Giants’ division rivals. However, this does not exclude the Giants from having their own list of embarrassing moves. With that being said, here are four of the biggest free agent busts in NY Giants history.

4. LB J.T. Thomas

At the time, this was a signing that confused a lot of people, as J.T Thomas was, well, not very good. Despite this, the NY Giants still decided to sign the 27-year-old linebacker to a three-year, $10 million deal.

There may be some FA busts who made more at the time like Carlos Emmons, who signed a five-year, $16.5 million deal with the Giants in 2004. However, Emmons at least had a couple of productive seasons with the Giants before a back injury forced him to retire in 2006.

However, Thomas was the opposite of productive, as in his three seasons with the team, Thomas would only appear in 15 games, starting in 11. In Thomas’ lone healthy season with the Giants, he would rack up 46 combined tackles in 12 games.

Obviously this signing being a bust is not entirely on Thomas, as not only did he not deserve that kind of contract, but he also entered bust status due to all of the injuries he sustained during his time with the team.

Thomas’ contract may not have been as bad as some of the other players on this list. However, the fact that he was signed for that much money by the Giants, combined with his lack of talent, made the decision to give him a three-year deal a bone-headed move.

3. OL Geoff Schwartz

When Geoff Schwartz signed with the NY Giants, it was seen as a huge move for the team. At the time, Schwartz was seen as one of the best lineman in the NFL. With that in mind, the Giants signed him to a four-year, $16.8 million deal. However, similar to Thomas, Schwartz would be heavily limited due to injuries.

In his two seasons with the NY Giants, Schwartz would only appear in 13 games. Almost his entire time with the time was spent on the IR. He appeared in two games in 2014, and 11 in 2015 before a broken ankle caused him to miss the rest of the season. Following that season, Schwartz would be released and would never play a snap in the NFL again.

There was never really a question surrounding Schwartz’s talent, as throughout the injuries, he was still pretty solid. However, the NY Giants could not risk paying him so much if he was not going to be on the field. It was very sad to see Schwartz go out the way he did, as you could really tell he wanted to give his all to the Giants, but his health just simply failed him.

2. LB LaVar Arrington

In similar fashion to Schwartz, LaVar Arrington was one of the best players at his position when the NY Giants signed him to an insane seven-year, $49 million deal in 2006. However, his health failed him in Week 6 of the same season, where he would go down with a ruptured Achilles.

Following this, the NY Giants new GM at the time Jerry Reese decided to release the 28 year old. While Arrington’s agent stated that Arrington wanted to play the 2007 season, no team signed him and he would retire at the end of the year.

Prior to signing with the NY Giants, Arrington had two down seasons due to injury with Washington. With him, there was no question about his talent, as in the first four seasons of his career, Arrington would make three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.

Arrington was undoubtedly a very talented player. However, just like many other greats to play in the NFL, his career would be cut short due to injuries, making for a very sad end to a great career. The Giants had strong belief in him when they presented him with a seven-year deal, but things just never worked out for him.

1. OL Nate Solder

Everyone should have seen this coming.

When the NY Giants signed Nate Solder to a whopping four-year, $62 million deal, which made him the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL at the time, fans were very excited, as it seemed as if the G-Men had finally found their bookend tackle to protect an aging Eli Manning.

This excitement quickly faded though, as fans quickly realized how bad of a deal this was. While his first season was not terrible, with Solder allowing seven sacks but posting a pretty solid PFF grade of 75.7, things went downhill after that.

Solder would allow 11 sacks in 2019, then he opted out of the 2020 season, and allowed six sacks in 2021. While this would be the lowest amount of sacks Solder would allow during his tenure with the NY Giants, it was without a doubt the worst campaign he ever played. His play was tough to watch from start to finish.

While Solder played longer than anyone else on the list, the expectations he had, money he made, and rate of play all combine to make him the worst free agent signing in NY Giants history. He’ll be remembered in East Rutherford for his struggles instead of dominance.

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