The New York Giants have had major problems in the last few years with sacks, and it’s been some time since the team has had a real main pass rusher – Olivier Vernon didn’t live up to the expectations in that role and the closest the Giants have gotten is Markus Golden, who bounced back from a pair of bad seasons with the Cardinals to record 10 sacks in his first in New York… But Golden may not even be on the team come the end of free agency.
The Giants need to either add a pass rusher through the draft or free agency, and if they go for someone in free agency, one of the main candidates is Seahawks OLB Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney has of course taken some time to come into his own in the league but is one of the bigger names on the free agent market these days owing to his athleticism and his 9 sacks in each of his last two years with Houston, before his move to Seattle.
Despite coming off of a down year where he only registered 3 sacks, however, Clowney could come at a high price for whichever team ends up picking him up.
There’s some good news and bad news about the situation for the Giants. The good news is that there seems to be an interest from Clowney’s end in coming to the Giants – the bad news is that they may just be priced out of actually signing him.
According to SNY, the Giants are one of the teams on Clowney’s list of desired locations. It’s not surprising, of course. Despite bad years for the Giants recently, the team can still boast of having one of the largest media markets in sports, and New York is known as a place where there’s always something to do and where stars thrive.
However, it doesn’t look like Clowney has enough interest in New York to take less money to come to the Giants.
According to an NFL source, the Giants are one of the teams on the 27-year-old edge rusher’s wish list as he heads to free agency. But according to another source, he could be looking at a contract worth $22-23 million per year, which will likely be out of the Giants’ range.
The Giants currently have no player on their roster with a cap hit higher than 19.5 million – and that contract belongs to Nate Solder, who is widely believed to be overpaid by the Giants based on his poor performances on the field.
Giving Clowney his desired contract would make him the highest paid player on the team. Is he worth that kind of money? Considering his lack of a 10 sack season, and his worse stats across the board in 2019, probably not.
Whether the solution comes from re-signing Markus Golden, or drafting a pass rusher in the Draft, the Giants are likely better off finding help in that department elsewhere if this report is actually true.