It appears veteran offensive guard Greg Van Roten is returning for another year of NFL play at 35 years old. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Van Roten has agreed to a deal that will keep him with the Giants for another year.
This is a bit surprising, as the Giants signed Van Roten during training camp last year. As Evan Neal‘s timetable kept being pushed back, the Giants changed course and installed Van Roten next to former Raiders teammate Jermaine Eluemunor. Effectively important right side of the Las Vegas line, New York may have designs on running that back.
Van Roten played for $2MM last season and immediately took over as a starter at RG. Pro Football Focus graded Van Roten as a mid-pack guard, which was about the best Giants could have hoped for under the circumstances; the advanced metrics site slotted him 42nd in 2024. While the Giants no longer opted to count on Neal, Van Roten made 17 starts for a second straight season. He will enter 2025 as one of the NFL’s oldest linemen — on either side of the ball.
Vacillating between backup and starter, Van Roten has made an interesting mid-30s resurgence. A part-time starter with the 2021 Jets and a pure backup with the ’22 Bills, Van Roten earned a starting gig as a mid-offseason Raiders replacement and did the same with the Giants. The former UDFA out of Penn has made 88 career starts.
Van Roten returning gives the Giants all five of their 2024 O-line first-stringers under contract. A “for better or worse” caveat may be needed there, as it was not a particularly great line (largely sans Andrew Thomas), but continuity up front is generally a positive for teams.
While Kevin Zeitler has certainly enjoyed a better career, Van Roten matches the former first-round pick in longevity. Hours after the historically durable guard landed another gig (with the Titans), Van Roten is set to play a 14th season as well. The Giants have spent their money on defense in free agency, adding Paulson Adebo, Jevon Holland and Chauncey Golston. While they want to sign Aaron Rodgers as a high-profile bridge QB, that is still on hold. Van Roten will either be blocking for Rodgers or another bridge option in 2025, with the Giants also firmly in play to draft a quarterback at No. 3 overall (or via a trade-up).
Ely Allen contributed to this post