HEADLINES

Nate Solder

Giants Place T Matt Peart On IR

December 30th, 2021 at 2:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants will not have one of their tackles available for a while. While they placed Matt Peart on IR on Thursday, the second-year blocker will be shut down well into the offseason.

Peart suffered a torn ACL during the Giants’ Week 16 game against the Eagles. The 2020 third-round pick was starting in place of Nate Solder, who was out after a positive COVID-19 test.

This could impact the Giants’ plans at right tackle. Solder is due to be a free agent in March, thanks to a reworked contract. His 2020 opt-out changed the Giants’ offensive line approach, sliding Andrew Thomas to left tackle. Peart played 22% of the Giants’ offensive snaps last season and upped that to 43% this year. Peart made five starts this season.

While Peart probably factors into the Giants’ post-2021 plans, his stock will take a hit because of this injury and the franchise being set to move on from GM Dave Gettleman. The Giants have dealt with considerable issues up front this season, having played without interior-line starters Shane Lemieux and Nick Gates. Both starters suffered severe injuries, with Gates’ September setback a possible career-ender. Beyond Thomas, not much is certain about the Giants’ offensive front beyond this season.

The Giants also activated Solder from the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday but moved tackle Korey Cunningham and wide receiver Darius Slayton to the virus list. Cunningham had replaced Peart at right tackle in Philadelphia. The Giants also placed running back Gary Brightwell on IR.

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/25-12/26/21

December 26th, 2021 at 11:05pm CST by Ely Allen

We’ve compiled a list of players who were placed on or activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Christmas and today. In some instances, players activated from the list remain on IR:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Steven Sims

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFC East Notes: Giants, Gregory, Fitzpatrick

October 28th, 2021 at 10:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Jabrill Peppers‘ torn ACL will keep him sidelined for the rest of the 2021 campaign, and considering his expiring contract, there’s a chance his stint with the Giants has effectively come to an end. However, head coach Joe Judge kept the door open when speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

“Look, this guy is in a contract year, it’s something I’ve talked to him about directly,” Judge said (h/t to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “He’s a guy that I value a lot in this program. I’d love to have this guy going forward, I’ve told him that directly. He’s been a very good leader for us. You can talk about him being local, that the Giants mean something to him. I think that’s very important. He’s a guy that loves football, he loves this organization, he loves this area. Those are things we talk about building as cornerstones and pillars of this program and he’s a very important part of our program.”

The safety started five of his six games this season, compiling 29 tackles and one sack. Considering Peppers’ contract status, his reduced playing time, and continued trade rumblings, there was a chance the veteran would be traded prior to his injury. The ACL injury certainly changed things, and Peppers could pursue a comeback with his current team.

More notes out of the NFC East…

  • With the Giants sitting at 2-5, it wouldn’t be a surprise if several Giants veterans end up hitting the trade block. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv explored which players could be on the move, with tight end Evan Engram, cornerback James Bradberry, guard Will Hernandez, tight end Kyle Rudolph, and offensive tackle Nate Solder earning spots on the list. Vacchiano even goes as far as to list running back Saquon Barkley as a potential trade candidate, but he can’t envision the Giants receiving a haul that would convince them to bail on the former second-overall pick.
  • Randy Gregory has dealt with his fair share of suspensions, but the former Cowboys second-round pick followed an impressive 2020 campaign with an even better start to the 2021 season. In five games (four starts), Gregory has collected four sacks. The 28-year-old will hit free agency following the 2021 season, but David Moore, Calvin Watkins, and Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News all believe that the defensive end will be back next season. Moore notes that the team wouldn’t have held on to Gregory for all these years if they didn’t plan on a long-term pact, while Watkins cautions that the franchise tag could prove to be a risky move considering Gregory’s limited track record.
  • There was once some hope that Ryan Fitzpatrick would be back by now, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport writes that Washington Football Team will have to wait a bit longer. The 38-year-old is still weeks away from returning, with Week 10 being the earliest possible return for the starting quarterback. Fitzpatrick suffered a hip subluxation back in September, forcing Taylor Heinicke into the lineup.

OL Rumors: Raiders, 49ers, Giants, Solder, Eagles

July 7th, 2021 at 3:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders are tracking to have two starters from their 2020 Week 1 offensive line setup back, with Kolton Miller signed long-term and Richie Incognito back on a lower-cost deal. But spillover from another training camp battle may affect Incognito’s standing. Denzelle Good and John Simpson will vie for the starting right guard spot, but Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic note Raiders coaches have informed the team’s guards the loser of this competition may still wind up replacing Incognito at left guard (subscription required). Incognito, 38, played well in 2019 but missed 14 games due to an Achilles injury last season. The Raiders cut him in March but re-signed him weeks later on a one-year, $2.12MM deal. Good replaced Incognito last year, and the Raiders are hoping Simpson — a 2020 fourth-round pick out of Clemson — can win the right guard competition.

Here is more on the Raiders’ O-line and the latest from some other offensive fronts around the league:

  • Elsewhere on Las Vegas’ O-line, the center spot may not be much of a competition. Despite offseason addition Nick Martin having started four full seasons with the Texans, the former second-round pick appears to be clearly behind former UDFA Andre James, according to The Athletic. After trading Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson to the Cardinals, the Raiders gave James an extension. James has played 116 offensive snaps as a pro; all came in 2019.
  • Nate Solder has moved to the Giants‘ roster bubble, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. The 6-foot-8 veteran worked as New York’s starting left tackle in 2018 and ’19, after signing a then-record tackle contract in free agency, but opted out in 2020. The Giants can spread out Solder’s cap hit over multiple years, but they would face a $13.5MM cumulative dead-money charge by cutting Solder. Andrew Thomas has taken over as New York’s left tackle, with Raanan adding that Solder will compete with second-year blocker Matt Peart for the right tackle job. Solder has not been a full-time right tackle since his rookie season in 2011.
  • Although former UDFA Daniel Brunskill provided some stability amid 49ers injury chaos last season, starting 16 games, the team plans to return him to a utility role. The 49ers are eyeing second-round pick Aaron Banks as their starting right guard, Matt Barrows and David Lombardi of The Athletic note. Brunskill worked as a swing backup as a rookie in 2019, primarily filling in for left tackle Joe Staley. The 49ers selected Banks 48th overall; the 325-pound rookie started in part of his sophomore season and throughout his junior and senior years at Notre Dame.
  • Rather than stockpile depth at tackle, the Eagles may look to trade the loser of the Andre Dillard–Jordan Mailata left tackle competition, Eliot Shorr-Parks writes. While keeping both would provide insurance, Shorr-Parks notes moving Mailata in a contract year would make sense and Dillard may lose more value if he goes through this season as a backup. A 2019 first-round pick, Dillard missed all of last season due to injury and has logged just four career starts. A rugby convert chosen as a project in the 2018 seventh round, Mailata spent two full seasons in development but broke into Philadelphia’s starting lineup for 10 games last season.

Details On Nate Solder’s Reworked Deal With Giants

March 22nd, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Ben Levine

When we learned that the Giants were set to rework Nate Solder‘s contract, pretty much everyone expected that the team would save a small chunk of money. However, the veteran lineman’s new deal will actually see him take a significant pay cut.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Solder’s 2021 salary has been reduced from $10MM to only $3MM, leading to a $9.5MM cap charge (ultimately saving the organization $7MM). Solder’s 2022 deal was also reduced to $3MM, none of which is guaranteed, and his cap hit will drop from $18MM to $7MM. So, at the end of the day, Solder basically committed to a new two-year, $6MM deal with $3MM in guaranteed money.

Solder opted out of last season but had expressed a desire to play in 2021. The 6-foot-8 tackle was previously attached to a $16.5MM cap number after his contract tolled from 2020. Outright releasing the lineman never seemed like a logical option for the Giants, as it would have left the organization with $10.5MM in dead money.

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. While his production has gone down, Solder still started each of his 32 games between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, playing in at least 95-percent of his team’s offensive snaps per year.

There’s a chance that Solder sees mostly a backup role in 2021. The team’s rostering 2020 No. 4 overall pick Andrew Thomas, and they got some surprising production from third-round pick Matt Peart last season.

Giants, Nate Solder Finalizing Reworked Deal

March 13th, 2021 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants are on track to have Nate Solder back for the 2021 season. They are finalizing a reworked deal for the veteran left tackle, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

Solder opted out of last season but expressed a desire to play in 2021. The 6-foot-8 tackle is attached to a $16.5MM cap number, after his contract tolled from 2020. That number will be coming down.

This process has been in the works for a bit now. Despite the Giants’ big-ticket free agency deal with Solder not working out to their liking, the former first-round pick would have cost the team $10.5MM in dead money to release. (A post-June 1 cut would have been in play as well, given the circumstances.) The team just used its franchise tag on Leonard Williams for the second straight year, and Dalvin Tomlinson remains in the picture to be re-signed. Carrying a $16.5MM cap figure for a middling tackle would be an impediment to the Giants’ free agency plans.

It will now be interesting to see how the Giants configure their offensive line. They used 2020 No. 4 overall pick Andrew Thomas at Solder’s left tackle position last season. Prior to Solder’s opt-out decision, the tentative Big Blue plan was for Thomas to begin his career at right tackle during what was expected to be Solder’s final year as a Giant. Solder played right tackle as a rookie with the Patriots but has spent the bulk of his career on the left side.

New York worked in third-round pick Matt Peart at right tackle for stretches last season; the UConn product played 15% of the Giants’ offensive snaps in 2020. It is certainly possible Peart continues to be a contributor, but Solder returning would place the second-year blocker on track to be a backup again.

Giants Optimistic About Nate Solder Return

March 11th, 2021 at 4:48pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

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.

Giants’ Nate Solder Plans To Play

February 26th, 2021 at 10:39am CST by Zachary Links

Count Nate Solder among the 2020 opt-outs who will return in 2021. The Giants veteran tells ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan (Twitter link) that he plans to play, “as long as the situation is right.” 

Solder’s decision doesn’t necessarily guarantee that he’ll be back with the G-Men, however. After his 2020 commitment tolled, he’s scheduled to make $10MM and count for $16.5MM against the cap. That’s a lot of money, especially with 2020 first-round left tackle Andrew Thomas in the fold.

Instead, the Giants can trade or cut Solder outright to save $6MM against the cap. If they trade him in the summer or make him a post-June 1 release, they can spread out the dead money hit to create $10MM in breathing room this offseason. In that event, they’d have $6.5MM in dead money this year and $4MM in 2021.

The Giants signed Solder to a then-record four-year, $62MM deal in 2018. He was the centerpiece of GM Dave Gettleman‘s offensive line overhaul, but he did not live up to the contract in his first two seasons. Now, the 6-foot-8 veteran could wind up making his return elsewhere.

2020 NFL Opt Out Tracker

August 5th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Per an agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA, players with COVID-19 health concerns can opt out of the 2020 season. Initially, the deadline was believed to be Tuesday, August 4. Talks between the league and the union have pushed it to August 6.

Chiefs guard and medical school graduate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to officially opt out. Scores of players followed.

Here’s the rundown, so far:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • T Brad Seaton

Tennessee Titans

  • OL Anthony McKinney

Washington Football Team

Free agents

Giants LT Nate Solder Opts Out

July 29th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Giants left tackle Nate Solder has announced he is opting out of the 2020 season. The former Patriots blocker cited family concerns in doing so (Twitter link). Solder, who overcame testicular cancer during his NFL career, has a son battling cancer.

This was set to be Solder’s third season with the Giants, who were to slot No. 4 overall pick Andrew Thomas‘ at right tackle. This announcement may change the organization’s plans. Solder qualifies as a high-risk opt-out player. He will receive a $350K stipend for the 2020 season.

The Giants signed Solder to a then-record four-year, $62MM deal in 2018. That deal now runs through the 2022 season, with Solder’s $9.9MM base salary and $19.5MM cap number tolling to 2021.

He was the centerpiece of then-new GM Dave Gettleman‘s offensive line overhaul. While the 6-foot-8 veteran has not delivered on that contract, his opt out will leave the Giants shorthanded at one of the game’s most pivotal positions. Solder, 32, has started all 32 games since signing his Giants pact.

Big Blue drafted Thomas as a Solder heir apparent, but after letting 2019 right tackle stopgap Mike Remmers leave in free agency, the team was planning on a Solder-Thomas setup. This may force the team to begin Thomas at left tackle early and move March addition Cameron Fleming into the starting lineup. The Giants had the former Patriots and Cowboys tackle on track for a swing-man role. Fleming has started 18 games in his six-year career. New York also used a third-round pick on tackle Matt Peart, but even before the coronavirus wiped out onsite offseason workouts, the UConn product was viewed as more of a developmental player.

Were the Giants to look to the market to find a left tackle stopgap, Cordy Glenn remains unsigned. Jason Peters re-signed with the Eagles after months in free agency, and Kelvin Beachum reached a recent deal with the Cardinals. Donald Penn and longtime Buccaneers right tackle Demar Dotson also remain free agents.

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