HEADLINES

Micah McFadden

Giants Meet With LB Anthony Barr

August 17th, 2023 at 3:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 17: Schoen’s previous comments notwithstanding, the Giants indeed circled back to a Barr visit. The nine-year veteran met with the Giants on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. No deal is imminent, but as the Giants hold a competition to see who will start alongside Okereke, they are still looking into veteran help. As of now, however, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes McFadden remains on track start (Twitter link).

AUGUST 9: This meeting does not look like it will happen — at least, not right now. The Giants will not bring in Barr for a visit, GM Joe Schoen said (via NJ.com’s Darryl Slater).

AUGUST 8: Anthony Barr left his Saints visit without a deal in place, and a report indicated other teams are on the radar. One of those suitors emerged hours later. The Giants look to be interested in the veteran linebacker.

The Giants and Barr are arranging a visit, according to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The Giants have two young linebackers attempting to fill in alongside Bobby Okereke, but Barr would certainly bring an experience edge for a team that lost Jarrad Davis to a season-ending injury.

A Giants-Barr connection exists through defensive line coach Andre Patterson, who was in Minnesota throughout Barr’s time with the team (as a part of Mike Zimmer‘s staff). Having fired Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman, the Vikings did not bring Barr back last year. He spent the 2022 season with the Cowboys.

Despite signing with Dallas near the start of last year’s training camp, Barr moved into a regular role with the Cowboys. The 2014 first-rounder started 10 games and added two more postseason starts, playing at least 65% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps in each postseason contest. For the season, Barr finished with 58 tackles, two fumble recoveries and a sack. The veteran off-ball linebacker’s best years obviously came in Minnesota, but the UCLA alum is still generating interest as a role player.

Okereke signed a four-year, $40MM contract with the Giants in March, joining a team desperate for ILB help. Okereke’s deal trailed only Tremaine Edmunds for linebacker value this offseason, being well north of the other non-rush backers on this year’s market. The Giants did not spend to upgrade at the other ILB starting spot, going with Davis on a league-minimum pact. But Davis suffered a major knee injury during offseason workouts. The Giants have 2022 fifth-round pick Micah McFadden (seven starts) and 2022 sixth-rounder Darrian Beavers, who is coming off an ACL tear that wiped out his rookie year. Beavers is believed to have a leg up on McFadden for the starting job, but the Giants checking in on Barr points to the team exploring a veteran upgrade.

Barr, 31, passed his Saints physical, per Anderson, but wants to explore this late-summer market. A four-time Pro Bowler with the Vikings, Barr transitioned from college edge rusher to NFL off-ball presence. Zimmer deployed Barr as a 4-3 outside linebacker, but he has spent time as a sporadic rusher as well. Barr has 18.5 sacks and 48 QB hits over the course of his nine-year career.

ILB Competition On Tap For Giants

June 17th, 2023 at 5:32pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants made a big move this offseason to address the inside linebacker position in free agency, signing former Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke. Okereke will slot in as a sure starter in New York’s lineup, but who will the Giants decide on as the starter lining up next to Okereke?

In the past two years, New York has seen their options dwindle with an ACL tear leading to the eventual release of Blake Martinez and the benching and waiving of Tae Crowder. Okereke provides a strong presence on the inside of the linebacking corps, but the team still has questions next to him. Darrian Beavers, Jarrad Davis, and Micah McFadden are the three names that have been mentioned as candidates to start next to Okereke.

McFadden is typically the third name thrown into the conversation behind Beavers and Davis. This is a result of McFadden being seemingly cemented as Okereke’s backup. McFadden started next to Okereke while Beavers and Davis were dealing with injury this spring, but considering he plays the same position as Okereke, he’s not a favorite to share the field with him moving forward. This appears to be a battle mainly between Beavers and Davis.

Davis joined the team extremely late into the season last year. A former first-round pick, Davis had been starting less and less as his career progressed. Despite becoming a Giant with two weeks left in the regular season, Davis started in Week 18 before starting two playoff games for New York, an impressive feat with such a small amount of time in the building. With Beavers dealing with injury, Davis started early in the spring, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, but found himself on the sideline with an undisclosed injury during minicamp.

Beavers missed his entire rookie season after tearing his ACL in Week 2 of the preseason last year. The Giants are reportedly extremely high on the 2022 sixth-round pick, whom they are hoping to have back by training camp. Once he does return, Beavers will provide immediate competition for Davis. During a Mailbag Q&A session, Duggan asserted his belief that Beavers will claim the starting job next to Okereke during training camp.

So, there you have it. Beavers, the young, unproven player coming off a major injury, is currently the expected favorite to start. Davis is slotted into the position for now, if healthy, and should have a chance to make a case to regain his status as a starter in training camp. If both are unavailable, McFadden can start in their place, though the team prefers that he back up Okereke instead of start next to him.