News’PatLeonardanswersyourBigBlueTwitterquestion
G
ns
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The NFL’s offseason business is
continuing, though it has changed
dr a m a t i c a l l y d u e t o t h e c o -
ronavirus pandemic. And that
means plenty of roster shuffling
and questions about free agency,
the NFL Draft, the Giants and
more.
We’re here to give you the an-
swers gleaned from our daily re-
porting on the league and on Big
Blue in this week’s Giants Mailbag.
As always, we pull our questions
from readers submitted on Twitter,
Instagram and email.“Should I get rid of the hope that
we will re-sign Markus Golden?”
—@skeltz22
You shouldn’t count on it. The
Giants obviously were pleased
with Golden’s 10 sacks last season,
and there was mutual interest in
considering a reunion.
James Bettcher, the defensive
coordinator who brought his for-
mer Arizona Cardinal to New
York, is gone. And Golden cost the
Giants only $4.75 million in cash
last year for that production.
Now, he’s out to cash in on his
impressive first healthy season
since a 2017 torn ACL, which
means he’s out to be paid like a No.
1 edge when he shouldn’t be more
than a No. 3 or 2 at best on a good
team. Good player; not elite. He
even hired new agents at power-
house CAA.
Golden can’t be expecting a con-
tract like Robert Quinn’s with the
Bears (five years, $70 million in
Chicago), but he also isn’t looking
for a second straight one-year
prove-it deal like those of the Fal-
cons’ Dante Fowler Jr. ($12 mil-
ion), the Rams’ Leonard Floyd ($10
mi l l i o n ) a n d t h e T i t a n s ’ Vi c
Beasley ($9 million).
Maybe at best he’s in line for
something like Shaq Lawson’s
three-year, $30 million deal in Mi-
ami. It’s unknown if the Giants
would go there, either. Their sign-
ing of Packers edge Kyler Fackrell
to a one-year, $4.6 million deal
should tell you something, actu-
ally: it is nearly the identical
amount of cash the Giants paid out
to Golden last season. As in, it ap-
pears it’s replacing it.We’ll see, though. It’s not like
the Giants have anyone else who
gets to the QB.“Where do you think Julian Love
fits into the defense? Slot corner
or free safety?” — @jay7852
Neither. Love’s best work was at
strong safety last season when
Jabrill Peppers got hurt. I thought
he was better there than when he
played in the slot.
While Peppers is the better ath-
lete, Love was an upgrade in reli-
ability at that position. So I see him
in the safety rotation and maybe
even as the Giants’ starting strong
safety with Peppers moving more
permanently to a true hybrid line-
backer role in Patrick Graham’s
scheme that values and aims to
highlight versatility.
Iknow Love can play free safety
and manned the back in three-
safety sets at times, but the Giants
have been in the free agent market
for a free safety, and they need a
true stud in the back because Gra-
ham runs a Cover-1 scheme that
leaves the free safety back there
alone. As I’ve said many times, un-til the Vikings’ franchise-tagged
free safety Anthony Harris re-signs
in Minnesota or is traded, keep an
eye on him.“Giants free agency grade?” —
@ginoschianofootball
C. Encouraging that they got one
of the top corners on the market in
Carolina’s James Bradberry and
Fackrell may be a low-risk, high
reward edge. Dion Lewis could
have some juice left as a backup
RB. And Colt McCoy would seem
to serve their need at backup QB.
I’m skeptical of the Blake Mar-
tinez signing, they didn’t signifi-
cantly address edge rusher and
didn’t really address free safety or
offensive tackle at all. I’m also not a
fan of franchise tagging Leonard
Williams, and overall the roster
just doesn’t look a whole lot more
competitive than it did a couple of
weeks ago.
Ilike that Joe Judge has brought
clarity on how many different
needs there are on the roster. You
can tell they’re trying to improve
depth across the board. Titans DT
Austin Johnson is a good exampleof that.
Unless they make another big
signing or splash trade for a player
like Jaguars edge Yannick Ngakoue
or the Vikings’ Harris at safety, I’m
fairly unmoved.“Why did Wayne Gallman fall out
of favor?” — @MJRIDER815
No one knows, Gallman in-
cluded. He got a raw deal espe-
cially considering his 118-yard,
two-touchdown performance in a
Week 4 win over Washington in
Saquon Barkley’s first full game
sidelined by a high ankle sprain.
There was no explanation for why
he didn’t play and veteran Buck
Allen did in the final five games of
the season. The Giants do have a
new coach with personnel say, so
maybe Judge will consider keeping
the still-young Gallman, 25, a Jerry
Reese 2017 fourth-round pick out
of Clemson. But Dion Lewis’ sign-
ing does not bode well for Gallman
in 2020. And it’s unknown if Gall-
man’s benching came from Pat
Shurmur or above him.“When do you think the Giants
will agree to a contract with Leo
[Leonard Williams]?” —
@anthonytgallo13
As of this moment, my opinion is
he will end up being traded after
signing the franchise tag. The two
options I consider most likely are
either: A) Williams ends up playing
for the Giants on his one-year fran-
chise tag or B) he will be traded
after signing it.
Things could change, but based
on conversations I’ve had, I don’t
see Williams doing an about-face
and taking a long-term contract at
around $10 million a year that he
considers dramatically below his
value. On the one-year tag he
would make $16.1 million for 2020.
If the Giants get to a point where
they decide they have no chance to
re-sign Williams to a long-term
deal, they could trade Williams or
just pull the tag and use that $16
million to help other parts of their
rebuilding roster.
Williams can’t be traded until he
signs the tag. So if the Giants want
to deal him, he has to sign the tag
first.Giants fans should not
expect reunion with LB
Markus Golden might not be back with the Giants next season.NNoo GGoollddeenn rruullee
66 Sunday,March 29, 2020 DAILY NEWSNYDailyNews.com