NFC Notes: Giants, Beckham, Manning, Seahawks, Janikowski, Lions, Sherman

While Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants reportedly aren’t close on an extension, it still seems like a deal will get done at some point. The team has repeatedly made it clear they don’t plan on letting their franchise player hit the open market. But whenever they do lock up Beckham, it could have a ripple effect on the team’s finances and roster, opines Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com.

Dunleavy notes that if Beckham gets the $17MM+ per year he’s looking for, it would put the Giants in rare territory. It would make the Giants one of only two teams in the league to have three players with a cap hit above $17MM, with the other being the Broncos. Eli Manning will have a cap hit of $22.2MM in 2018, while Olivier Vernon will have a $17MM cap hit. Dunleavy thinks committing so much cap space to just a couple of players could cause the Giants to look to move on from Manning sooner than they would otherwise.

Because of Manning’s importance to the franchise, Dunleavy writes the team’s handling of him is like “handling a grenade”, one that “went off in their hands last season” when they briefly tried benching Manning for Geno Smith. Dunleavy thinks that “if Manning struggles in 2018, it makes economic sense for the Giants to move on because Beckham’s inflated salary cap hit essentially could take the place of Manning’s atop the chart.” Whatever happens, it seems possible that Beckham’s looming mega-extension could mean the beginning of the end for the Manning-era in New York.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

• Sebastian Janikowski‘s nearly 20-year run with the Raiders came to an end when the team let him walk in free agency this spring. Janikowski ended up signing with the Seahawks, and now finds himself in a battle with Jason Myers to replace Blair Walsh as the Seahawks‘ kicker. Janikowski appears to have a leg up in the competition, and has been “working with the starting unit” this offseason according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
• New 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman continues to progress well as he rehabs from the torn achilles that ended his 2017 season, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Barrows writes that Sherman was limited this offseason, but should be a full-go for team drills when training camp opens.
• Two Lions undrafted free agents have been standing out and have good shots at making the team, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Birkett singled out wide receiver Teo Redding and linebacker Chad Meredith for praise, and he likes the roster chances of both players.