The Giants cut Kevin Zeitler this week, and many people have been expecting another big name offensive lineman to follow him out the door. However, it sounds like veteran offensive tackle Nate Solder might be spared amidst the cap casualty onslaught.
There is now optimism within the organization that Solder will play for the Giants in 2021, a source told Dan Duggan of The Athletic (Twitter link). Duggan notes that the sides are “still working out the terms,” so it sounds like Solder’s contract is going to be restructured. In all likelihood, that means Solder will be taking a pay-cut.
He had been scheduled to carry a $16.5MM cap hit for this season. New York has been needing to clear space in order to bring back guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson, and many pointed to a Solder cut as an obvious way to save money.
The Giants are indeed talking “restructured numbers” with Solder, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post confirmed in a tweet. A source told Dunleavy that it never reached that point with Zeitler, meaning Zeitler was a goner from the beginning despite some speculation that he could restructure as well.
New York signed Solder to a massive four-year, $62MM deal in 2018, and he’s been a pretty big disappointment for that hefty contract. They almost traded him in 2019, but nothing got done. He opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, so he still has two more years left on that deal. He confirmed in February that he’s planning on returning for the 2021 season.
Some more Dave Gettleman “logic”….
Of all of his moves, I think this was the worst one. I continue to be amazed that Solder has still managed to stay on the roster. I’m not a card carrying member of the anti-Gettleman brigade, but we all have seen a few flops in New York and in my mind Solder is actually the biggest (depending on the outcome of this year with Jones).
The only reason Solder is still there is because his connection to Judge. That is all.
As a Giants fan, I’m just trying to survive until Gettleman is gone. He has ruined this team. He’s been “rebuilding” for years and there’s just as many, if not more, holes in the roster than when he started.