The New York Giants may have struck gold with their new offensive lineman this season. The Giants brought guard Greg Van Roten on board in the summer of 2024 to supplement their ailing offensive line. Gross inconsistency was more of a problem than injuries for New York’s pass and run protectors. Van Roten was looked at as a veteran talent who could potentially bring stability to their front.
Giants: Greg Van Roten has played lights out in the last 3 weeks
Signed to a one-year, $2 million deal, the Penn product has shown himself to be highly effective for the G-Men, especially in the last three weeks. Van Roten was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded Giants player in their 26-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers back in Week 8.
Per Giants Wire’s Serena Burks, he received an 81.9 player grade for that game — better than rookie running back Tyrone Tracy (73.0), who went for 145 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, and linebacker Bobby Okereke (81.3), who recorded 14 total tackles and 0.5 sacks on the affair.
That sterling level of play has carried over through Week 9 and into their most recent loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 10. On Wednesday, Empire Sports Media’s Alex Wilson highlighted this crazy stat about the 34-year-old’s productivity over the last three weeks, saying:
“Greg Van Roten has given up 3 pressures in his last 3 combined games…,” Wilson published on X.
Pretty damn solid for a one-year, $2 million deal. Giants should keep him next year, even if it’s to offer essential depth.”
Van Roten could continue to help the Giants’ O-Line move in the right direction
The Giants’ historically bad O-Line from 2023, which conceded the second-most sacks in NFL history with 85 — has improved this season. Though they’ve coughed up the fifth-most sacks in the league this year with 30, they won’t even come close to that number this time around unless a colossal collapse takes place. Van Roten has done his part to help their unit move in the right direction, even if it’s been at a gradual pace.
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He’s the type of presence that could help New York build upon a foundation of consistency and reliability on the line. The Giants currently have $42.3 million in cap space for 2025. Therefore, even if Van Roten were to look for a 100 percent pay raise per year on his next deal, the Giants would have ample funds to bring him back without hurting their bottom line.
That is the longer end of the stick for him, considering he’s only seen an annual salary above $2M back when he signed his three-year deal with the New York Jets for the 2020-2022 seasons at an average annual salary of $3.5M. The Giants may have someone to work with on their hands for real.
