Leonard Davis got $18m guaranteed from the 'Boys, Ahman Green got $22m from the Texans... And the Giants waited, patiently.
It's hard to fault Jerry Reese for not diving into this weekend of madness. It's not that the money is so crazy, relative to cap space and the rising costs of doing business in the NFL, but we said it here before and we'll say it again: The Giants are retooling for the future, not to try and mortage said future to win this season when things are so unsure and the available talent is so spotty.
So if it means a season of enduring Brandon Jacobs' growing pains, so be it. If it means a rookie LB on one side of Antonio Pierce and Gerris Wilkinson on the other, so be it. Frankly, the Giants did things with a bigger splash the past 2-3 offseasons, and what did it get them? Two playoff losses, a few washed-up LBs and a few draft picks sent packing for Eli.
A person with knowledge of the Giants' thinking said there hadn't been much talk of Tatum Bell coming in a trade; the Lions could actually use Bell, so it's doubtful they'd hand him over for the second-day pick Reese would be offering.
So patience is the key word, it seems. And it goes far beyond the next few days.
Comments (3)
It'll be too bad if they go into the draft with a ton of needs.
I'm all for avoiding those big sums of guaranteed money. A guy gets injured or leaves football and then there's a ton of wasted cap space.
I agree with James Trotta. Although I see Phil's point too. Hey look, they aren't built for the now. We saw that last year. I'm willing to endure a little heartache. I know Strahan and Toomer are long in the tooth and probably wouldn't want it to be this way, but if you look carefully at how a lot of good teams have been built, a lot has been through the draft and undrafted rookie free agents with the occasional FA player supplement. I'd like to see the Giants make a run at Tully-Banta Cain, but patience is good. And Arthur, you are my hero!