HEADLINES

New York Giants News & Rumors

Giants To Add CB Tre Herndon

June 12th, 2024 at 12:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following a string of one-year deals with the Jaguars, Tre Herndon will head elsewhere for the first time in his pro career. The Giants are signing the veteran cornerback Wednesday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

Herndon spent the past six seasons with the Jaguars, working as the team’s slot corner in recent years. The Jags changed defensive coordinators this offseason and did not re-sign the experienced cover man. The Giants will add another slot piece to a team that has a few in the fold already.

The Giants had used Cor’Dale Flott in the slot for much of the 2022 and ’23 seasons, but they are planning to shift him to an outside role opposite Deonte Banks. The team drafted Andru Phillips in Round 3 with an eye on installing him in the slot, and Darnay Holmes remains in the mix after re-signing in March. Given the team’s slot-heavy CB outlook as of mid-June, Herndon represents an interesting addition.

Herndon, 28, signed one-year Jaguars deals in each of the past three offseasons. After the Jags did not bring Herndon back this year, he booked a tryout at the Giants’ minicamp this week, via the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard. That performance sold the team’s coaching staff, which includes a new DC (Shane Bowen), on giving Herndon a chance.

A Jaguar dating back to team’s Jalen Ramsey–A.J. Bouye days, Herndon lasted through a few coaching staffs. Signed as a UDFA during Tom Coughlin‘s executive VP tenure, Herndon re-signed during Urban Meyer‘s year in charge and then stayed on during the Doug Pederson-Trent Baalke regime. As the team shifts to Ryan Nielsen as its defensive play-caller, a few pieces — from Ronald Darby to Darnell Savage to third-round pick Jarrian Jones — entered the fray. This left Herndon searching for a new home. The seventh-year CB will attempt to land a role with the Giants, who made a notable change at the position this offseason.

The Giants did not re-sign Adoree’ Jackson, who remains a free agent, and are confident Banks can fill his shoes as the top corner. As prices rise on New York’s payroll following deals for Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence, Andrew Thomas and Brian Burns, the team has an all-rookie-deal secondary in place. For the time being, that is expected to include Flott as the other outside CB starter. During OTAs, Phillips was viewed as a live candidate to commandeer Flott’s former slot role. Holmes represented insurance; Herndon adds a more proven presence.

Herndon played 481 defensive snaps last season — his most since a 1,016-snap 2020 — and Pro Football Focus rated him as a top-40 corner, with a poor run-defense grade affecting that placement. This marked a career-best showing, in PFF’s view, for the Vanderbilt alum. Though, the Jaguars reduced Herndon’s playing time over the season’s final six weeks, making it fairly predictable he would need to relocate to continue his career.

The 5-foot-11 defender played a regular role for the Jags’ 2022 playoff team and was viewed as an every-down player in the wake of Ramsey’s in-season 2019 departure. The Jags used Herndon as a frequent sub-package performer under Meyer and Pederson, and he now becomes the Giants’ most experienced DB.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/10/24

June 10th, 2024 at 7:42pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Detroit Lions

  • Waived: LB Steele Chambers

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived/injured: NT Buddha Jones

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brightwell was waived/injured by the Giants in May but ultimately reverted to IR. The former sixth-round pick struggled to carve out a role behind Saquon Barkley in New York. Brightwell’s tenure with the Giants will officially end with the RB having collected 256 yards from scrimmage.

Thompkins suffered a hamstring injury in late May that ultimately led to him getting waived/injured. As ESPN’s Jenna Laine notes, it’s about a two-week recovery timeline for the Grade 1 strain, meaning the wideout should be on the brink of full health.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times passed along a troubling wrinkle to the situation last week, noting that Thompkins’ release quickly followed public accusations of spousal abuse from his estranged wife. The woman, Maria Castilhos, posted pictures of injuries that she claims were sustained in February of 2023.

“First and foremost, Deven categorically denies the allegations levied against him by his estranged wife, Maria Castilhos,” attorney Brett Gallaway said in the statement. “Unfortunately, Deven and Maria have been going through a contentious divorce proceeding and child custody battle, and it appears that she thought it would help her case to release these false and defamatory videos.

“… We expect he will be fully exonerated after a review of the facts, background, and clear ulterior motive behind the release of these videos and fabricated assault allegations.”

Thompkins served as Tampa Bay’s primary returner in 2023, finishing with 16 kickoff returns (for 327 yards) and 25 punts (for 234 yards). The former UDFA had a limited role on offense, hauling in 17 catches for 83 yards and one touchdown. As Stroud notes, coach Todd Bowles said the “door is open” to Thompkins returning to the Buccaneers once he’s healthy, although the team has already replaced him on the roster with Cody Thompson.

WR Pharoh Cooper Announces Retirement

June 10th, 2024 at 4:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

Pharoh Cooper did not play in 2023, and he will not pursue a comeback this summer. The veteran receiver/return specialist announced his retirement on Monday.

Cooper entered the league with the Rams in 2016, and he showed promise in the return game as a rookie. His follow-up campaign proved to be the best of his career on special teams, as he racked up 1,421 all-purpose yards while averaging 27.4 kick return yards. The former fourth-rounder earned a Pro Bowl nod along with first-team All-Pro honors that season.

The South Carolina product’s run with the Rams came to an end following an ankle injury in 2018. That marked the beginning of a span in which he bounced around the NFL while trying to remain a standout returner and carve out a role on offense. In the latter regard, his best season came in 2019 (243 yards, one touchdown on 25 catches) while splitting his time between the Cardinals and Bengals.

Cooper went on to spend the 2020 season in Carolina before joining the Giants the following season. His last game action came in 2022 when he returned to Arizona; in all three stops he saw sparse offensive usage while serving as the his team’s returner. For his career, Cooper racked up over 3,900 return yards and averaged 9.2 yards on punt returns and 23.6 yards on kick returns.

“Farewell football, I’m officially retiring from the NFL,” his retirement announcement reads in part. “I appreciate all the love and support I’ve received from my family, friends, and fans through out my career. Much love.” 

Cooper will hang up his cleats at the age of 29. A veteran of 76 combined regular and postseason games, he amassed roughly $4.77MM in career earnings. After a full season away from the game in 2023, he will turn his attention to his post-playing days.

Giants TE Darren Waller To Retire

June 9th, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

Throughout much of the offseason, the future of Darren Waller has been in question. The veteran tight end has been expected to retire for some time, though, and to little surprise that is the direction he has elected to move in.

Waller has informed the Giants he will hang up his cleats, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The 31-year-old made it clear he would make a final decision no later than the break between mandatory minicamp and training camp. With the final aspect of New York’s offseason program set to take place over the coming days, the team can now move forward knowing Waller will not be in the fold.

The former Pro Bowler faced major expectations upon his arrival with the Giants, which came about last offseason via trade. He was attached to a three-year, $51MM pact, but much of that will now come off the books given this decision. Waller’s retirement will create roughly $11.6MM in cap space while incurring a dead money charge of just over $2.4MM in 2024 and ’25. Given the nature of the free agent market at this time of year, of course, the team will be hard-pressed to find a starting-caliber replacement.

Plenty of snaps will be available to 2022 fourth-rounder Daniel Bellinger once again. He served as New York’s starter as a rookie, but his role diminished last season with Waller in place. The Giants added Theo Johnson in the fourth round of this year’s draft, and he will aim to carve out at least a rotational place in the team’s offensive plans. Veterans Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz are also in the picture at the tight end spot.

Waller began his career as a sixth-round pick in 2015. His Ravens tenure consisted of sparse usage and a one-year suspension in 2017 for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. After joining the Raiders, however, he saw a major uptick in production. During the 2019 campaign, the Georgia Tech product posted 1,145 yards. He followed that up with a 107-1,196-9 statline one year later, cementing his status as one of the top pass-catching options at the position around the league. Hamstring injuries became a problem over the past three years, however.

Over time, the missed action increasingly became an issue for the Raiders, and Waller’s injuries were a key factor in the decision to find a trade partner. The Giants paid only a compensatory third-round pick to acquire him last March, but Waller’s tenure in the Big Apple will go down as a notable disappointment. Injury consideration was a central component of his decision-making process with respect to attempting at least one more year in the league, something which would have seen him receive as much as $12MM.

Instead, Waller will call it a career after eight seasons and nine years in the NFL. With over $42MM in career earnings, he will now turn his attention to his post-playing endeavors. The Giants, meanwhile, will prepare for training camp with added financial flexibility but a vacancy on the TE depth chart.

Giants Rumors: Banks, Daboll, Defensive Staff

June 8th, 2024 at 5:12pm CST by Ely Allen

Former first-round pick Adoree’ Jackson is currently a free agent after playing out his three-year, $39MM contract with the Giants, and at this point, it’s almost guaranteed that he won’t be returning to New York. According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the team’s decision to let Jackson walk without a new contract is a result of their trust in Deonte Banks to step up as a “true No. 1” cornerback.

Jackson had been an extremely successful signing over his first two seasons with the Giants but saw his quality of play decline drastically in 2023. After grading Jackson out as the 15th and 31st best cornerback in the NFL over first two years with the team, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Jackson at 117th out of 127 graded players last year.

Banks, a first-round rookie in 2023, didn’t grade out much better last season, with PFF marking him as the 110th best cornerback in the NFL. Still, Banks was productive as a rookie, nabbing two interceptions and leading the team with 11 passes defensed last year. He’s extremely physically gifted for the position, and many in the building believe he surpassed Jackson on the depth chart last year.

He’ll have his work cut out for him as the team’s top corner in 2024. The Giants open their season against Justin Jefferson and the Vikings. Other receivers he’ll be expected to shadow on the schedule are Terry McLaurin (twice), CeeDee Lamb (twice), A.J. Brown (twice), Amari Cooper, D.K. Metcalf, and Ja’Marr Chase. The Giants have faith that Banks will develop into the CB1 they’ll need in order to succeed in 2024.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of New York:

  • We’ve heard plenty of rumors already that Giants head coach Brian Daboll will take over play-calling duties for the offense in 2024 over offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. While it’s only organized team activities, Dan Duggan of The Athletic may have confirmed that notion, reporting that Daboll has been calling plays in OTAs. Daboll was spotted in the offensive huddle in between each play wile Kafka was lurking 10 to 15 yards back and to the left of the offense.
  • Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson just missed out on getting promoted to replace Wink Martindale as the defensive coordinator in 2024, losing out to former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. Despite the exodus of defensive staff that would usually follow such a move, Daboll made it clear that he wanted almost all of the assistant coaches on the defensive side of the ball to stay, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Bowen was given a chance to make desired changes, but following the lead of Daboll, who personally let go any defensive staffers he didn’t want to hold on to, Bowen opted to retain much of the same staff as the previous campaign.

Giants Expect TE Darren Waller To Retire

June 3rd, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Adam La Rose

Darren Waller has yet to make a final decision on his playing future. As things stand, though, it would come as a surprise if the Giants tight end continued his playing career in 2024.

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports Waller is likely to make a retirement decision no later than next week’s mandatory minicamp. The team’s position is that he is leaning toward hanging up his cleats rather than suiting up for a second campaign in New York. The 31-year-old’s future has been in doubt throughout the offseason, and he has not taken part in OTAs.

Waller spoke about his situation in April, stating a final call may have been made prior to the draft. That did not happen, but he has pledged to inform the team of his decision before the break between mandatory minicamp and the start of training camp in July. New York’s minicamp will run from June 11-13, meaning clarity on the situation should arise by that point.

As Raanan notes, the Giants are proceeding as if Waller deciding to play would be a “pleasant surprise.” The former Pro Bowler posted a second consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2020, but he has been beset by hamstring injuries for much of the time since. His trade from the Raiders to the Giants brought about expectations for a rebound, but he was limited to 12 games and one touchdown catch. New York has made preparations for a Waller-less tight end room this offseason.

The team still has 2022 fourth-rounder Daniel Bellinger (who has started 24 of his 29 games) on his rookie pact. He is joined by free agent additions Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz as well as Theo Johnson, who was drafted in the fourth round. That group will look to serve as capable pass catchers if Waller does indeed elect to hang up his cleats.

The latter is on the books for three more years, but none of his remaining salaries are guaranteed. The Giants would generate $11.63MM in cap space against a dead money charge of $2.46MM by moving forward with a post-June 1 release. If Waller decides to end his playing tenure, he will depart the NFL with just over $42MM in career earnings.

Giants’ Brandon Brown Addresses Financial WR Approach

June 1st, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Recent offseasons have seen the top of the wide receiver market reach unprecedented heights. A number of teams around the league have made massive investments in both ascending and established pass-catchers, but the Giants have not been among them under general manager Joe Schoen.

New York inked Kenny Golladay to a four-year, $72MM during Dave Gettleman‘s final year at the helm. That pact proved to be ill-fated, as the ex-Lions Pro Bowler recorded one touchdown catch in 28 combined regular and postseason games. Golladay was released last March, and he remains unsigned.

Under Schoen, the Giants have relied on the draft to fill out the receiver room. Wan’Dale Robinson (second round, 2022), Jalin Hyatt (third round, 2023) and Malik Nabers (first round, 2024) represent the team’s most notable investments along that route. The latter in particular faces major expectations entering his rookie season (although New York attempted to move the No. 6 pick in a trade-up which would have yielded quarterback Drake Maye).

The Nabers-Hyatt-Robinson trio comprises a low-cost group to join veteran Darius Slayton. A contract dispute was recently ended in that case, and $2.15MM now exist in incentives on the final year of his pact. Slayton, fellow veteran Allen Robinson and the Giants’ young WR options are the product of an organizational effort aimed at keeping costs down at the position.

“You see where the wave is going,” assistant general manager Brandon Brown said of the Giants’ financial approach (via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). “We’ve talked over the years about projecting the market… and you don’t want to be on the wrong end of deals. I think, when you look at how young our receiver corps is, it’s an advantageous position to be in. Just the production, opportunity and the skill set all allows for you to be cost-controlled.”

Fielding a receiving corps lacking in major cap commitments has allowed the Giants to make moves such as the Brian Burns acquisition. The trade for the ex-Panthers edge rusher was accompanied by a five-year, $141MM extension. Of course, the Giants’ offense features a notable investment in the form of quarterback Daniel Jones. He is in place for at least one more season on his $40MM-per-year deal, although the team’s interest in replacing him were understandably not well received.

Questions remain about Jones’ long-term future, but adding a rookie signal-caller would provide the cap flexibility to make a signficant addition at spots such as receiver. Given Brown’s comments, though, the Giants appear content to remain committed to their current approach at one of the league’s premium positions.

Contract Details: Jennings, Slayton, Maye

June 1st, 2024 at 2:06pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are some details on recently agreed upon deals from around the league:

  • Jauan Jennings, WR (49ers): Two years, $15.39MM. We noted a couple of details in our original report of Jennings’ one-year bump, but thanks to OvertheCap.com, we now have a few more details. First, we see that San Francisco is taking advantage of the recent void year trend that continues to grow in popularity. Jennings’ deal contains four void years at the conclusion of his contract, spreading $14.15MM of his cap hit from 2026 to 2029. Because of this, his cap hits for the next two years will be $2.77MM and $4.26MM, respectively, but if he doesn’t sign a new deal by 2026, he will hold an $8.3MM cap hit despite not being on the roster that year. We originally noted the reported guarantees as $10.54MM, but we now know that he is guaranteed $8.44MM at signing consisting of his $6.21MM signing bonus and both years’ base salaries (worth $1.06MM in 2024 and $1.17MM in 2025).
  • Darius Slayton, WR (Giants): Two years, $12MM. We recently saw the Giants add some incentives to a restructured deal for their leading receiver of the past few years. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reports that, as a result of the new deal, New York will see Slayton’s cap hit drop from $8.15MM to $7.75MM. His base salary in 2024 also sees a reduction from $2.7MM to $2.5MM. He should receive a $2.4MM roster bonus, a $350K workout bonus, and could earn up to $750K for the year in per game active roster bonuses.
  • Drake Maye, QB (Patriots): Four years, $36.64MM. Most rookies don’t get much say in how their first NFL contracts look. Overall contract value for first-year players is determined by their draft slot. One point of negotiation, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, appears to be the time it takes for a rookie to receive guaranteed money like signing bonuses. On this note, New England’s new passer will receive all $23.47MM of his signing bonus within 14 days of signing the deal, a huge, timely payout for the North Carolina-product.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/31/24

May 31st, 2024 at 8:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

Friday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Tucker Fisk

Minnesota Vikings

  • Waived: OL Matt Cindric 

New York Giants

New York Jets

Giants WR Allen Robinson: ‘I’ve Got A Couple More Years In Me’

May 31st, 2024 at 6:06pm CST by Adam La Rose

Allen Robinson will play for his fourth different team in as many years if he manages to make the Giants’ roster in 2024. The veteran receiver acknowledged he was caught off guard by the fact he was a free agent this offseason while adding he has no intention of retiring.

The 30-year-old spent last season with the Steelers, serving as a full-time starter. Robinson’s production (34 catches for 280 scoreless yards) represented a step back from that of past years, though, and Pittsburgh made the unsurprising move of cutting him in March. That led to an unexpected (from Robinson’s perspective) stint in free agency.

“I know for them, they were doing a lot of changes over there, schematic changes, and different things like that,” he said of Pittsburgh (via Michael Elsen of Giants.com). “So, it was a little surprising. But at the end of the day, it’s a part of the business. I’ve been in this thing now going on 11 years.”

The former second-rounder established himself as a high-profile receiver during his time with the Jaguars and Bears, topping 1,000 yards three times in a career known for often featuring sub-par quarterback play. Those stints were followed by one-and-done campaigns with the Rams and Steelers, during which Robinson saw his outuput drop considerably. He will aim to rebound this year as at least a depth contributor for the Giants.

“I knew right away I was playing again,” the Penn State product added. “In my eyes, I know for sure I’ve got a couple more years in me. Last year, kind of stepping into the season, I wasn’t quite 100 percent. I was coming off a foot injury. So, being able to have this offseason to really be healthy and train and do all those things, I knew for sure. There was no doubt for me as far as playing wise.”

New York’s 2024 receiving corps includes Malik Nabers, selected with the sixth overall pick after the team’s Drake Maye trade-up efforts were rebuffed. The Giants also have Darius Slayton back in the fold with an apparent contract resolution having been found. They, along with the likes of Jalin Hyatt, Wan’Dale Robinson and Isaiah McKenzie will play varying roles in New York’s passing game. Robinson could provide a veteran presence to that group while potentially helping his 2025 free agent stock in the process.

Load More Posts