The New York Giants have made some regrettable decisions over the past few years. From signing Daniel Jones to a long-term contract to not retaining Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney, the organization has been ridiculed for its poor management of players entering free agency.
Former Giants’ pass-rusher Azeez Ojulari is set to hit free agency
Well, it may happen again, as edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, who the Giants opted not to trade at the deadline, is an impending free agent. Ojulari is presumed to be one of the more sought-after defensive free agents on the market thanks to his youth and potential.
The 24-year-old showed tremendous promise in his rookie season in which he recorded eight sacks and 42 total pressures. However, injuries diminished his impact the following two seasons, as he appeared in just 18 games in the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined.
The injuries and Kayvon Thibodeaux taking over pushed Ojulari into a backup role. As a result, he emerged as a potential trade candidate this past season. The Giants were one of the worst teams in the NFL this past season, and they had an opportunity to sell high on a player who could have landed them some additional draft capital to help them accelerate a rebuild.
Instead, the Giants chose to keep him, and now he could very well depart elsewhere with New York getting nothing in return. In 11 games this past season, Ojulari recorded six sacks and 22 total pressures. He also recorded a career-worst missed tackle percentage of 31%. Despite a flash of success during the middle of the season, Ojulari’s injury bug bit again, and he ended up spending the second half of the season on injured reserve.
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The Giants missed an opportunity to sell high on Ojulari
Those issues may have diminished his value further, meaning that the Giants missed out on a chance to acquire key pieces in exchange for him. Given his younger age, he has the potential to turn things around fairly quickly, and New York could regret letting him walk for nothing.
McKinney and Barkley had career seasons for their new teams this past season, while Jones was benched and then released during the regular season. It seems as though the Giants have only pressed the wrong buttons over the years, yet owner John Mara is giving general manager Joe Schoen one more chance to fix the wrongdoing.
The Giants will likely need to find a replacement for Ojulari this offseason, unless they can surprisingly re-sign him to an extension. New York will now have to claw their way to find a long-term replacement if Ojulari does leave for greener pastures in the offseason. Finding that replacement could have been made a lot easier by trading Ojulari away to gain an additional draft pick during the season.
