Connor barwin

New York Giants: Connor Barwin Released After First Season With Team

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Connor Barwin isn’t going to go down in the record books as having a long career with the New York Giants. The outside linebacker who was brought in last offseason to improve the pass rush had high expectations after making the switch from the Los Angeles Rams, but after only spending one season with the team, Barwin has been released with one year left on his contract.

The contract originally had two years and was worth $3.5M. Many believed that Barwin’s role would be to help out the pass rush and support younger players such as Lorenzo Carter, but it doesn’t seem like that’s what happened. Rather, Barwin was overshadowed this season by the others at the outside linebacker position.

Barwin played in 15 games this season and registered only 12 tackles. That’s the worst number of his career, even worse than his rookie season in 2009 where the total came to 16. Barwin also had only half as many tackles as he did in the previous season, with the Rams. After picking up 34 tackles in both 2016 and 2017, the 2018 season will go down as a major disappointment.

The production in the sack department wasn’t much better either. Barwin had five sacks during each of the two prior years, but could only manage one in 2018. Not good numbers for someone who was mainly brought in because of being a talented pass rusher. The poor performances led to Barwin starting most of the team’s game on the bench, appearing in the starting lineup only three times.

The Giants will save some money with the release, but will still have to spend $365k in dead money after releasing Barwin from a contract that had $1.25M left to be paid this year. With the release, second year linebacker Lorenzo Carter should have a larger role. After all, the Giants no longer need the player that was brought in partly for the purpose of helping him improve his game.

Connor Barwin Signing Is Already Paying Dividends For The New York Giants

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Signing a former Philadelphia Eagles player is never a happy moment for a New York Giants fan, but when it comes in the form of linebacker Connor Barwin, it might just be. You might ask, why? And the answer is simply: He’s much more than just a player; he fits general manager Dave Gettleman’s mold perfectly.

The Giants signed Barwin to a max $5 million over two-years. Having the former Eagle and Ram is fantastic for a team that’s making the transition to the 3-4 defense, a scheme that Barwin is familiar with.

How has Connor Barwin already made an impact on the Giants in just a week?

The veteran linebacker has taken the young players under his wing, helping them develop and learn how to play efficiently as an outside linebacker. His impact has been impressive right off the bat and he hasn’t even been with the team an entire week. He sets the stage for the future free agents the Giants will look for to help solidify both sides of the ball.

Barwin will not only be used as a teacher, but as a potential starting edge rusher as well. He will likely split reps with Lorenzo Carter early in the season and ease back into a rotational player. His ability to get after the opposing quarterback has been apparent over the course of his career, as he recorded 14.5 sacks in 2014.

Although he fell off a bit in the last two years, he will be a great reserve player and fill-in starter. Having depth on the defensive line is essential and was a serious problem in 2017 for the Giants. Luckily, they are building through the trenches in 2018, which will help maintain the quality of the team’s core once the regular season begins.

New York Giants: Two New Additions To Watch During Training Camp

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New York Giants, Cody Latimer

Training camp officially begins today for the New York Giants, with the players that have made it this far reporting in for the earliest stages of activities, and the roster will soon be trimmed to the one that will take the field at the start of the season. It’s also a chance for fans to get a look at how the new additions to the team are fitting into the system.

Who are the ones worth paying the most attention to? Here’s two that are outside of the obvious names such as Saquon Barkley. One for the defense, and one for the offense.

Connor Barwin, OLB

Connor Barwin agreeing to a two year deal with the Giants is big for the team. The pass rusher brings something much needed to the Giants defense, and can be a veteran presence to aid rookie linebacker Lorenzo Carter. However, the clock isn’t on Barwin’s side. At least, it shouldn’t be when you look at the numbers on paper.

The Eagles released Barwin in 2017 and he was picked up on a one year deal by the Rams, who didn’t sign him to another contract. There’s a reason why both teams moved on from him, despite having five sacks and decent tackling numbers in both of his last two seasons. Barwin is 31, and this training camp will be big for him.

It’s a chance for the team to see whether he still has the skill and athleticism at 31 to play a big role in the pass rush, and Barwin’s training camp will surely have an effect on the position battles at outside linebacker. Giants fans have been optimistic so far after the team picked Barwin up, but it’s time for Barwin to prove that their confidence is well placed.

Cody Latimer, WR

Cody Latimer is another newly signed player, who joined the Giants back in March. The receiver played his entire career for the Broncos before his move to New York, but didn’t have a notable season until last year. That was when he recorded more than three times more yards than he did the previous season, and scored two touchdowns while increasing his average yards per catch from 9.5 to 15.1

Can Latimer keep improving and play a bigger role with the Giants than he did with the Broncos? That’s the big question going into training camp. Latimer faces a lot of competition. Obviously, Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard are the team’s main receivers. The fact that their status is already clearly defined just makes the competition even fiercer between the others at the position.

Latimer could be the third wide receiver on the depth chart, but that assumes that he fends off efforts from Roger Lewis and Amba Etta-Tawo. If Latimer does put up good performances in training camp, the help in the passing game will be very useful to quarterback Eli Manning, who was let down by his receivers once Beckham Jr. was injured last season.

 

What Connor Barwin Brings To The New York Giants Linebacker Corps

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Despite drafting and signing several players to bolster the linebacker corps, the New York Giants still seemed thin as they enter training camp. This makes the signing of former Philadelphia Eagle Connor Barwin, that much more exciting.

The outside linebacker will earn a max $5 million over two-years. With the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, Barwin recorded 34 tackles and five sacks in 14 games (13 started). Seeing the veteran start that many games is extremely encouring for a Giants team in search of leadership and experience on the defensive side of the ball.

Making the transition to the 3-4 defense was an essential movement that will hopefully pay dividends for a team that ranked 26th in stopping run and in the bottom five in the league in overall defense (last season).

What does Barwin bring to the New York Giants:

As stated above, Barwin brings immense experience to a locker room featuring Olivier Vernon who’s moving to OLB, a rookie in Lorenzo Carter, and young players such as Avery Moss and Romeo Okwara.

Barwin is only four-years removed from a 14.5 sacks season, but will turn 32 during the 2018 season. His physical abilities might be degrading, but he was signed to impart his knowledge of success and veteran presence in the locker room. He will offer a stellar depth option and will likely earn a solid amount of playing time early on in the coming season.