The Giants need a reliable center, guard and probably a tackle with Beatty's poor play and broken leg. I believe they should try to combine free agents and draft and develop some Oline players. Once you've done your best in the F/A market, only then do you begin to consider the 2014 draft.
Centers:
Alex Mack PFF rating of 17.8
Everyone wants the Brown's center, Alex Mack. He's coming off his rookie contract of 5 years/14.6M total. He made $5,032,000 last year according to Spotrac.com.
Alex Mack
If Mack is the best center available, he going to get paid a ton. The franchise tag in 2013 on offensive linemen is a whopping $9,828,000.
I'd guess he'd like a 5 year deal since he's 28 and this will be his big bucks contract. I'm thinking he'd cost about $50M for 5 years, about 10M per year. That's not a contract for a team that has a $20M+ quarterback and expensive re-signs like JPP (2015) and Joseph to consider.
Dominic Raiola PFF rating of 18.6
This Lions player is as old as BB56. Actually he'll be 35 but looks like he's a machine. In 12 playing seasons in the NFL he's only missed 4 games. If you can June 1st cut Baas and eat the 6.4M in dead money spread out over two years, Raiola may be just what Baas's doctor ordered. Raiola's last contract was for 4 yr(s) / $20,000,000 total and last year he made $3,012,500.
Dominic Raiola
He could probably be forced off the Lions radar and brought to New York for 2 years / $10,000,000. We'd have Baas's money at 3.2M and Raiola's $5M for a total of 8.2M wrapped up in the center position. Then the Giants could draft a good prospect in rounds 2,3,4. I like this over Baas's 3.2M and Mack's 10M for a total of 13.2M tied up at center for the next 2 years.
Guards:
Geoff Schwartz PFF rating of 18.6
This 6'6" 340 pound monster missed 2011 due to a hip injury. He had a triceps injury with the Chiefs in 2013 but it didn't put him out for any games. The Chiefs probably used him as a backup because he only started 7 of the 16 games in 2013. He's most familiar with right guard. At the age of 27 he's probably looking for his big contract but the fact that he's only had one 16 starts season (2011) may make him a bargain. Could he be had for 4 years and about $12M total? The Giants might want to look at the 4 year veteran.
Jon Asamoah PFF rating of 7.9
Asamoah was Schwartz's teammate on the Chiefs in 2013. He's a bit smaller at 6'4" and 305 pounds. He started 9 of the 16 games last year and also has only one full 16 start season on his 4 year resume. He's had a calf, knee and shoulder injury but only missed 2 games in 2013. He did play in the final 5 games. He too may be had for 4 years and a total of $12M.
Willie Colon PFF rating of -1.1
Colon played the last year for our little sister team, the Jets and started in all 16 games. He's 6'4" and tips the scales at 315. He'll be 31 at the start of the year so he's no spring chicken but could have another 3 years left in him. If the -1.1 PFF rating scares you, consider that Boothe rated -11.3 and David "done" Diehl scored a -26.5. Unfortunately, Colon tore his biceps in the final game of the season and may not be ready for training camp. If the Giants want to risk this, he may be had for a small discount.
Summary:
Giants may consider free agents
center Raiola for 2 years at 5M per and pick up either
guard Schwartz/Asamoah for 4-5 years at 3M per. $8M spent on a huge Oline upgrade with a veteran center and guard would really help this team. The Giants really need to grab a tackle early in this draft because decent F/A tackles are just too expensive considering Beatty's contract.
Does anyone have any other recommendations for realistic free agent Oline?
BB'56 LIVES! lol
I am just saying, some "threshold" has to be set to assess his rehab in the offseason. And if he meets this threshold then I think we keep him around another year to work off that dead money.
Its not like we don't have at least 2 other Guards and maybe a LT to replace on that O-line already.
I was thinking the same thing that Raiola would be veteran insurance & reasonable price until the rookie center was ready. It may take a full year.
Doc, you're back! Welcome home!
I know its like rolling the dice a bit, but I almost want to bet that he has a healthy year coming in 2014. You know...like we are due for it or something?
Don't get me wrong though, I would love to draft his replacement this season. It would be a gift from heaven if we could find a diamond in the rough in Rd 3 or 4 on a Center with some mass and a bit of nastiness to win the job.
Is there a good pulling LG on the FA list ?? Maybe Boothe moves over to RG and we can plug in a rook who can get out ahead of a RB.
Ideal situation -- Baas shows up to OTAs in good shape and finally stays healthy all season. We draft a Center in Round 2 and groom him for a year.
I know, wishful thinking.
Baas's cap hit is 8,225,000 for 2014 and 8,475,000 for 2015. If you designate him a June 1st cut, the team will save the 16.6M and have dead money of 3,225,000 in 2014 and again in 2015. Baas is average when he's 100% healthy. But he seems to be getting injured at an alarming rate. Would you count on him playing 16 games in 2014/2015? I wouldn't.
Sign a cheaper but decent veteran short term and draft a center.
This, assuming the price is right. We need an OL in FA and in the draft, and then have to hope that some of the backups emerge. I still say that Diehl, Snee, Baas, and Boothe should all be gone.
God...it pains me to say, but he basically HAS TO BE cut on June 1st.
I don't have enough confidence in Cordle or Boothe to hold down the fort for 2014, so we need a free agent.
But hopefully cheaper than Mack...
Amtoft - we need every stinkin' dollar to get this turned around with other positional needs at RB, WR, OLB and just decent backups (instead of train-wrecks). Besides, it would be nice to keep Joseph, Beason and Tuck, within reason, so that costs as well.
I think we keep Beason and Tuck at reasonable prices. I can't imagine us being able to or wanting to match what Joseph may get. If so we let him go and bring in another quality rotational DT guy to our mix. I also don't fully agree we need an expensive RB, WR, or OLB. Andre Brown should come at a good price. Draft someone like Charles Sims in the 3rd or maybe bring in a James Starks. OLB isn't a huge need to me. We run a lot of 2 LB sets and Beason if signed will be one of them. I like what I was seeing from Jacquian near the end of the season. Think next year may be a big year for him depending on health of course. Since we have Randle and Cruz you can afford to not spend huge on WR also.
To me... The most important thing I do is go out and spend big on 2 interior OL starters and a young big time CB. I also bring in TE Scott Chandler who is a great fit for our Offense. $34 Mil is a lot of money especially when most contracts are front loaded.
Wilson, Brown and Cox is a recipe for disaster at RB, so we need a quality starter.
Randle can play on the outside but Cruz and Jernigans are slot guys so we need another bigger guy at WR
If we sign Beason, then we really only have him, Williams and Paysinger. The rest suck and need to be upgraded b/c we need 5 or 6 LBs available for defense and specials. Besides both Beason and Williams have injury risk to take into account.
There are many holes to fill, I don't think we can do it all this year. I think within 2 years this team can be turned into a contender.
Another intriguing fa to me is Roger Saffold from SttL. I haven't gotten through enough film yet but liked what I saw at guard from him this year. He will probably want to get paid as a lt, but at lower price point he would provide versatility as well as back up plan for Beatty if his injury lingers or play worsens. The more I think of the more I like as provides multiple options for line in 1, albeit more expensive, signing. Any others have thoughts on him?
sjh50: Yes, Roger Saffold Rams OT/OG would be a good acquisition. The guy is 6'5" and 332. Big body is what we need. Giants love versatility. He'd make a good replacement for Diehl.
Any other free agent centers/guards you would like to see signed at reasonable cap $?
East Meadow's Rich Ohrnberger at center of Chargers' playoff win over Bengals - ( New Window )
There are questions surrounding his time with the Bears. He may or may not have fallen out of favor by training with an ex-NFLer instead of voluntary workouts. Some think the Bears gave up on him too quickly. He's strictly a right tackle.
Yeah... and if you told me Prince would be available when we snagged him, I'd have said no way either. How many times have we watched guys slip down the draft... we're talking to 12th, with a guaranteed run on QBs before 12th. Will he be there? Probably not. Impossible? Heck no. I've watched way too many drafts to know better.
sjh50: Yes, Roger Saffold Rams OT/OG would be a good acquisition. The guy is 6'5" and 332. Big body is what we need. Giants love versatility. He'd make a good replacement for Diehl.
Any other free agent centers/guards you would like to see signed at reasonable cap $?
Yea.. I do. Changes what exactly? Forget the FA O-linemen. Pass. There will be two solid O-linemen and 12 and 43. Paying $8M to $10M for one guy to come in... and like Baas miss half a dozen games a year every year, then cut him early and eat the dead money. I'd rather grab two rookies like Pugh and pay all three about HALF, combined, what JR's pay Mack.
God...it pains me to say, but he basically HAS TO BE cut on June 1st.
I don't have enough confidence in Cordle or Boothe to hold down the fort for 2014, so we need a free agent.
But hopefully cheaper than Mack...
It appears to me this is a recurring theme... bring in a high priced FA, pay him $8M-$10M APY CAP then watch him get banged up, restructure his deal to push the pain out to the right. Now we're talking bringing in another big money FA and hoping he's not a Baas. Add to that the Snee predicament, and Beatty big money with broken leg... they've got to have more day 1 rookies like Pugh who hit the CAP for $1.8M. JR could grab two guys like Pugh on day 1, and pay all three as much as he'd pay for HALF of Mack... year after year.
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for another year versus breaking the bank on Mack? I don't have it all memorized, but I seem to recall we don't get a lot of savings by cutting Baas unless it is a June 1st cut.
Baas's cap hit is 8,225,000 for 2014 and 8,475,000 for 2015. If you designate him a June 1st cut, the team will save the 16.6M and have dead money of 3,225,000 in 2014 and again in 2015. Baas is average when he's 100% healthy. But he seems to be getting injured at an alarming rate. Would you count on him playing 16 games in 2014/2015? I wouldn't.
Sign a cheaper but decent veteran short term and draft a center.
...I think we have enough decent veterans on the bench, who were forced into service and couldn't hold up. Boothe is decent. Descent means you wish you had better guys to put out there. So just grab better guys on day 1... use both day 1 picks on the best O-linemen available, pay them $1.8M in CAP like Pugh, and worry about which of those guys plays which position later.
As far as the O-Line goes, the "recurring theme" idea doesn't wash. Sure, we've had bad luck with Baas, but we had great success with O'Hara and McKenzie, and, to a lesser extent, Boothe. Who's to say that the next free agent O-Line acquisition won't be more like those three rather than Baas?
The point is that you're not going to rebuild the O-Line with draft picks alone. It's going to take a combination of free agent signings and good drafting. It's not like we're the 2006 Jets, who had two 1st round picks (Ferguson at 4 and Mangold at 29), and it's not like we don't have other needs/priorities.
Then go BPA in the draft.
I do think if this front office is serious about competing next year then Mack becomes target #1 and we land an OG in the first week too.
The best free agent in the class addresses the one area that stopped us competing last year. Its a no brainer. I don't care if it means letting Joseph or Nicks leave. Get Mack in.