Giants Notes: Jackson, Linebackers, Trades

It sounds like Adoree’ Jackson will have to play out the final year of his contract. As Dan Duggan of The Athletic writes, the Giants have given no indication that they want to extend the cornerback. The front office seems “content” to let Jackson play out the final year of his contract and then reassess next offseason.

After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Titans, the former first-round pick inked a three-year, $39MM deal with the Giants in 2021. The defensive back has been productive when he’s been on the field, collecting 113 tackles and defending 15 passes. Pro Football Focus has also been fond of his performance in New York, ranking him 15th among 116 qualifying cornerbacks in 2021.

However, the defensive back has missed 11 games over the past two years. Most recently, he missed seven contests thanks to a MCL injury. The team will likely want to see how he rebounds from that injury in 2023, but if he performs well, he could be eyeing another sizable contract next offseason.

More notes out of New York…

• In the same piece, Duggan writes that it would be a surprise if the Giants select an inside linebacker early in the draft. The team is especially high on 2022 sixth-round pick Darrian Beavers, who should be fully recovered from his torn ACL by the time training camp comes around. The team did host Deion Jones earlier this month, so the front office could be eyeing some veteran reinforcement to play alongside Bobby Okereke.
• Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post tweets that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants trade another one of their picks for a veteran player before the conclusion of the draft. The Giants previously gave up a compensatory third-round pick (acquired from the Chiefs) for tight end Darren Waller. The team is currently armed with selections in every round of the draft, includes two fifth-round selections and three seventh-round picks.
• After parting ways with Jon Feliciano, the Giants are eyeing a new center in 2023. Speaking to reporters recently, GM Joe Schoen indicated that he was content with his current options at the position. “We claimed Jack Anderson; he was with us in Buffalo,” Schoen said (via the team website). “He does good work at center. Ben Bredeson is a guy that we feel very comfortable with playing center. And then Shane Lemieux was playing it as well last year before the injury. So, we’ll have some guys in there that will battle it out as well.” The Giants also recently brought in center J.C. Hassenauer to provide some competition at the position.
• Speaking of Hassenauer, the offensive lineman got a minimum contract from the Giants, per Duggan (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal worth $1.04MM, including $200K in guaranteed money. The lineman got into 45 games for Pittsburgh between 2020 and 2022.