Good Morning, New York Giants Fans!
The New York Giants have been starting Casper the friendly ghost at linebacker for weeks now after rookie Ryan Connelly went down with an ACL tear. Both Alec Ogletree and David Mayo have been non-existent in most aspects, but playing in coverage has been the biggest concern.
Despite missing tackles in the run game, Ogletree is allowing quarterbacks to complete 90% of passes against him, earning a small portion of his $10 million salary. Ogletree continues to prove general manager Dave Gettleman’s inability to solve the position through free agency, but he will have another chance in 2020.
With Bobby Wagner and Deion Jones receiving hefty extensions before the start of the 2019 season, it leaves only one player worthy of a significant deal. Shaq Thompson is the player of choice, and coincidentally he’s a former Gettleman draft pick.
Thompson is an extremely athletic linebacker who can cover and tackle efficiently. PFF has him ranked 5th in solo tackles, while Ogletree is 30th with 43 solos. His 70 rating gives him an entire tier ranking above the Giants’ linebacker, making him a stellar option to take his job.
I fully expect the New York Giants to cut Ogletree this upcoming offseason, especially with his dead cap hit dropping significantly. This season, he holds an $11.25 million dead cap hit, but it drops to $3.5 million after the season. Cutting Ogletree would open up approximately $8.25 million in salary cap, which should be designated to a new linebacker to pair with Connelly, who’s already out of his walking boot.
Aside from Thompson, other options include Joe Schobert and Blake Martinez, both hard-hitting linebacker that lacks the statistical output Thompson has provided for Carolina.
Nonetheless–
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