A lot, but not all, did the Giants in the free agency, it was designed specifically to provide help and support for Daniel Jones. There is no doubt that the front office now believes that the young defender, who is entering the third season of the NFL, is in a better position than ever.
“Of course, I always thought you were sending the guy you feel would be your franchise defender. The first thing you have to do is get the people around him to stand up and then you have to make them game players, ”Dave Gettleman said on Tuesday. “You help him by doing a variety of things.”
The things the Giants have done this season to ease Jones’ football life began with the signing of towering receiver Kenny Golladay. Also added were close veteran Kyle Rudolph, runner Devontae Booker and speed receiver John Ross.
“We felt we would like to get a bigger receiver, Kenny was available and we closed the deal,” Gettleman said. “Obviously, that will help Daniel. Kyle Rudolph is a professional. He’s been in the league for 10 years, he knows all the ins and outs, he’s still a good player, of course, that helps Daniel, but our running game also helps us, he helps Saquon [Barkley]. It’s a whole picture. “
Booker’s signing of a $ 5.5 million two-year contract has brought some unusual issues. If Barkley fully recovers after reconstructive knee surgery, Booker’s role is strictly as a reserve.
“One of the reasons we prioritized Devontae is that you can never have too many good players in one position,” Gettleman said. “One of the things that made Devontae attractive was the fact that I felt like a legitimate threesome. We feel that he can be a good part of our solution to running back. ”
After agreeing to a two-year, $ 12 million contract with Rudolph, the Giants found out that Rudolph had a foot problem that required surgery. He could have returned to the transaction or reduced the guaranteed money ($ 4.5 million) by adding time-based incentives. Ronnie Barnes, senior vice president of medical services, and Dr. Scott Rodeo, the team’s doctor, signed that Rudolph is finally back in health and the contract has remained unchanged.
“We’re giants,” Gettleman said. “We’ll do everything with the class and we had an agreement, Ronnie signed it and Dr. Rodeo signed it, so we were fine.”
The Giants knew that throwing big money (three years, $ 63 million) for Leonard Williams meant that his defensive linebacker, Dalvin Tomlinson, would never return. Tomlinson signed a two-year, $ 21 million deal with the Vikings.
“Dalvin is a wonderful young man and he was a captain,” Gettleman said. “It simply came to our notice then. But at the end of the day, you only have so much money and you have to make decisions. That’s how it is. We will miss Dalvin absolutely, and I’m glad he got what he wanted, and Minnesota is a great organization. ”