Justin Tuck has spent all nine seasons of his NFL career with the Giants, but it seems as if he’ll be shopping for a new home this March. Speaking to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post this morning, Tuck indicated that he was looking forward to exploring his options in unrestricted free agency.
“I will see what the market is for me,” Tuck said. “I’ve never been in this situation before, and it’s a great opportunity for myself. I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t see what the market is, and I will.”
At the conclusion of the Giants’ season a month ago, Tuck suggested that he’d be open to the idea of re-signing in New York and perhaps eventually retiring as a Giant. However, he seems less enthused about that idea now, acknowledging that while he intends to meet with the Giants next month to discuss a new deal, he and the team will both do what’s in their best interests, which may mean parting ways.
With about $116MM on the books for 2014, and a long list of pending free agents, the Giants won’t have a ton of flexibility to make Tuck a competitive offer. Still, it remains to be seen what sort of years and dollars the defensive end could land. He’s coming off a strong bounceback season that saw him play in all 16 games and record 11 sacks, but he’ll also turn 31 in March, so his age and injury history may raise red flags for potential suitors.
The Ravens would be a good landing spot.. Potentially losing Art Jones, Justin Tuck could reunite with Chris Canty on the line, and give the Ravens another pass rusher to pair with Suggs, and Dumervil.
Another good landing spot would be the Bears because we need at least on more younger player to anchor the other side opposite of Peppers