It has been an eventful first week of free agency for the New York Giants.
Big roster turnover is well underway with John Harbaugh now in town. The Giants replaced Wan'Dale Robinson with Calvin Austin II and Darnell Mooney, Bobby Okereke with Tremaine Edmunds, and Daniel Bellinger with Isaiah Likely. They also signed Jordan Stout and Patrick "Pancake Pat" Ricard to record-setting deals for a punter and fullback, respectively.
Cor'Dale Flott is gone. Off to join Robinson and Bellinger in Tennessee with former head coach Brian Daboll. Backup center Austin Schlottmann also joined them. Dane Belton left for (Gang) Greener pastures. It happens. But which departing players will the G-Men truly miss, and who can they replace this offseason?
3 Giants free agents fans won't miss (and 3 they will)
Giants will miss SAF Dane Belton
Dane Belton is one of those sneaky players you don’t fully appreciate until he’s gone. Last year, the 25-year-old stepped up in a big way in relief of Jevón Holland and Tyler Nubin, who missed seven games combined. Belton made a career-high nine starts, appeared in all 17 games, and posted career highs in tackles (120), sacks (2.0), and forced fumbles (three).
Not only was the 2022 fourth-round pick coming into his own on defense, but his work on special teams was one of the few things holding that unit together. Belton was an elite special teamer, and that absence is going to be felt more than people realize.
To replace him, Big Blue brought in a trio of safeties -- Ar’Darius Washington, Elijah Campbell, and Jason Pinnock (welcome back). The trio will do their best in spot-start duties, backup roles, and on special teams, but will likely fall short of the impact Belton could have given. It says a lot when the Giants felt like they needed three guys to replace one.
Giants will miss CB Cor'Dale Flott
Losing Cor’Dale Flott to the Tennessee Titans was not great. The guy is a dawg with a high motor and the kind of tenacity that helped him edge out Deonte Banks for the starting cornerback job. And while he technically occupied the role of CB2, the 24-year-old was their best corner all season, and hoping Greg Newsome II figures it out in Year 6 to replace him feels like wishful thinking.
Flott was arguably the most important free agent the Giants should have brought back, alongside Jermaine Eluemunor. The worst part is they supposedly had him ready to sign before Robert Saleh called and convinced him to head to Nashville instead.
The secondary was going to be a concern regardless of whether Flott re-signed or not. So losing him only makes their secondary worries more prominent.
Giants will miss IOL Austin Schlottmann
Austin Schlottmann certainly didn’t have a big role during his time in East Rutherford, but he played an important one nonetheless. The 30-year-old appeared in all 17 games for Big Blue last year, even making four starts in place of an injured John Michael Schmitz. Ironically, it’s because of JMS that the team will miss the Schlott machine.
Schmitz has struggled at center over the past three seasons, to say the least. He hasn’t graded higher than 28th at the position. Meanwhile, Schlottmann is coming off a season where he finished 10th out of 40 eligible centers, albeit on limited snaps. Still, he was a valuable spot-starter when needed, and now he’s gone with no one on the roster to take his place.
Right now, the interior line looks... thin. Aside from Ezeudu and maybe Neal (if he sticks at guard), it’s Jake Kubas, Marcus Mbow, Jon Runyan, JMS, and Aaron Stinnie. They need help, and they need it fast.
Giants won't miss LB Bobby Okereke
When the Giants signed Bobby Okereke to a four-year, $40 million deal back in 2023, the hope was he’d be a tackling machine who finally helped solve Big Blue’s run-defense woes. The tackling numbers were there, but they didn’t exactly translate to better run defense or winning football.
And empty stats at $10 million per season just isn’t good business. Instead, the G-Men pivoted to Tremaine Edmunds for $2 million more per year (three years, $36 million) for a guy who’s younger, bigger, and more athletic. They also retained Micah McFadden on a one-year prove-it deal, which helps stabilize the room a bit.
Okereke was a great teammate and a respected presence off the field, highlighted by his Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination for Big Blue. Still, this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-recently league, and injuries started to catch up with him, leading to inconsistencies, which have left the Giants with no real choice but to move on and upgrade.
Giants won't miss TE Daniel Bellinger
There’s a good chance Daniel Bellinger leaves New York and goes on to become a productive tight end for the Titans. And if that’s where the universe takes him, then that’s great for the 25-year-old, but there’s no denying he had already been surpassed by third-year tight end Theo Johnson, and Isaiah Likely’s arrival, combined with Chris Manhertz’s return, all but made Bellinger’s role obsolete.
The former San Diego State standout is a big-bodied, 6-foot-6, 250-pound in-line tight end who’s flashed some potential as a legitimate receiving threat when given the chance. No one is going to mistake him for Travis Kelce or George Kittle, but there’s something there worth digging into.
But seeing as though he would be utilized as a third-string blocking tight end in heavy sets, letting him walk with a price tag of $8 million per season (three years, $24 million total) was a wise decision, even if he puts up career numbers with Daboll in Tennessee. Would it sting? Of course. But there are two better options already on the team, ready to help Big Blue Nation forget about Belly.
Giants won't miss WR Wan'Dale Robinson
Yeah, I said it. Wan’Dale Robinson will not be missed. If we’re in the trust tree, Robinson’s career-high 2025 numbers are severely inflated by three games -- Week 2 against Dallas, Week 12 against Detroit, and Week 18 against Vegas. He had 28 of his 92 receptions, 411 of his 1,014 yards, and one of his four touchdowns in those three games alone.
The 2022 second-round pick proved he could handle a considerable target load and play outside on the boundary a bit, but there’s a clear ceiling for the 5-foot-8, 180-pound slot receiver. Even still, the Titans threw a four-year, $70 million (up to $78 million) deal at him to become their top target for second-year quarterback Cam Ward.
Robinson had an awesome season last year, and he deserves his payday, but it’s not like he’s irreplaceable. Likely will eat into most of the leftover targets, while free-agent signings Calvin Austin III and Darnell Mooney will handle the rest by committee alongside a healthy Malik Nabers.
The draft will also give them a chance to keep adding upgrades to the receiver room.