Dave Gettleman

New York Giants in horrible 2022 salary cap situation

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

The New York Giants are 4-8 with their season tumbling into an abyss of disappointment (once again). The future is murky for Dave Gettleman’s Giants in their fourth year of his rather unsuccessful rebuild. Looking ahead to the future, it seems there is no clear end in sight.

Dave Gettleman made some moves in recent years to bring talent to the Giants’ roster. He has spent large sums of money in free agency to acquire veteran talent, however, none of this has translated to winning seasons. Gettleman seems to be on his way out by season’s end, but that will only be the first step towards fixing this Giants’ roster. The incoming general manager will have a difficult time managing the New York Giants’ horrible 2022 salary cap situation that will greet them upon their arrival.

The New York Giants’ horrible 2022 cap situation

The Giants are projected to have right around $3.5M entering the 2022 off-season. This could cause the team to part ways with some of their top players. The primary issue with the Giants’ roster construction is that they are far too top-heavy. The team has a small handful of expensive contracts taking up the large majority of their cap space.

Over 50% of the Giants’ 2022 cap is currently slated to go to:

  • Leonard Williams
  • James Bradberry
  • Kenny Golladay
  • Adoree’ Jackson
  • Blake Martinez
  • Sterling Shepard

It is not ideal to have six players make up over half of the team’s salary. This will leave the Giants strapped for cash and struggling to create depth on their roster. A new GM will have a difficult time navigating this messy salary cap situation.

The Giants’ current cap situation is not manageable. The team will need to make some cuts and, unfortunately, some of the Giants’ best players might end up as cap casualties. The way things stand right now, New York would not even be able to get all eleven of their 2022 NFL Draft picks under the salary cap. The season is far from over, but looking ahead, the Giants have one stressful and messy 2022 offseason ahead of them.

New York Giants: Dave Gettleman likely to retire after season, claims report

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The New York Giants were able to pick up a win this week against Philadelphia, but some fans may find another piece of recent news more exciting. Dave Gettleman is currently in an uncertain position thanks to the team’s poor start and overall under-performance with the roster he built, and next season, it looks more and more like Gettleman won’t be with the team at all. According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Gettleman is unlikely to continue into 2022.

The Giants may not have to fire Gettleman either – the report says that Gettleman himself choosing retirement is a likely outcome.

General manager Dave Gettleman, who has run the team’s personnel department since 2018, is unlikely to return in 2022, sources with knowledge of the situation and those with deep knowledge of the league say. With two first-round picks in the next draft and a critical offseason ahead, don’t be surprised if there is another voice making the final call alongside head coach Joe Judge.

The report also notes that Gettleman is 71 next season. And based on the circumstances, it’s not hard to see why Gettleman might choose retirement at that age. The job of the GM next season will include fixing one of the worst offensive lines in the league, answering the question of who will be the team’s long term quarterback, and dealing with a precarious salary cap situation.

It’s obviously a stressful job, and Gettleman is already under pressure due to his track record so far. At this point, walking away may be the more attractive option.

Finding the next New York Giants GM

Of course, if Gettleman does walk away, the Giants will have to pick a new GM and avoid the same poor outcome as last time.

Rapoport claims the team is likely to look at candidates closer to Joe Judge’s way of thinking, but also that the Giants have strong options in-house.

In the building, there would be some strong candidates to replace him, notably VP of football operations and assistant GM Kevin Abrams. Outside the building, the organization will likely look at some candidates with a background in the New England scouting system more in-line with Judge’s thinking, along with others.

For many who have followed the team’s decisions during the past decade, the idea of picking an in-house candidate will be alarming.

The team has consistently missed on high first round draft picks since their last Super Bowl win and, in general, struggled to continue winning with a more traditional approach. Even the hiring of Gettleman himself, a clearly unsuccessful move, has largely been blamed on the Giants’ bias towards candidates with a past history in the organization. It’s hard to imagine another hire with ties to the largely unsuccessful Giants organization receiving anything but an overwhelmingly negative reaction.

If there is a GM search this offseason, the franchise will stand at a crossroads with a couple of choices; go with the usual way of thinking and make a hire like Abrams, or follow in the model of some of the league’s more forward-thinking teams.

Popular sentiment right now leans heavily in favor of the latter option, but as usual, there’s scarce news at this point indicating which way John Mara and franchise ownership leans on the issue.

New York Giants: John Mara and Jonathan Tisch seen at Friday practice

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New York Giants, John Mara, Dave Gettleman

This season, there’s been a lot of calls for the New York Giants’ owners to step up and do something about the state of the team.

Many believe that a frustrating pattern has emerged: the Mara family taking a hands-on role in influencing the team’s decisions, but watching things unfold from a distance without taking accountability for the failures.

The sentiment that John Mara needs to do more has likely reached its highest point this season as the Giants sit at 1-5 going into their latest game.

Fortunately for the fans that are asking for the Maras to do more, things may just be headed in that direction. John Mara and Jonathan Tisch were seen at the practice field on Friday, and reportedly spoke with Joe Judge and Dave Gettleman.

What were the New York Giants owners there for?

Of course, it’s not known publicly what the contents of that conversation were. Based on the current situation, though, it’s not hard to imagine it had something to do with the team’s performance.

While the team ownership has been patient despite the results over the past seasons, even they can’t ignore that it’s gotten bad enough for the players to get booed at home games.

A message to Judge and Gettleman that it’s time to get things together and start winning wouldn’t be a surprise.

The talk could also have to do with the coming trade deadline. It looks like the Giants are a selling team this year, and a large sell-off is the kind of move that usually needs the approval of team owners.

Either way, it’s interesting to see two of the team’s owners coming out to speak to Judge and Gettleman directly.

Their appearance could mean nothing, but as we don’t have much to go on, it’s something worth noting as pressure continues mounting on both the ownership and the staff members.

New York Giants among teams monitoring the cornerback market

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

Cornerback looked like one of the stronger positions for the New York Giants coming into 2021, but that hasn’t turned out the case. While the secondary was one of the key parts of a 2020 defense that finished in the top ten, the Giants have struggled more at the position this year. There’s multiple reasons, including James Bradberry looking a lot worse in coverage and Adoree’ Jackson not making as much of a splash as expected.

The Giants were also dealt a blow more recently when rookie corner Rodarius Williams joined the list of injured players. Unlike some of the other players that are only out for a matter of weeks, Williams is out for the season after tearing his ACL. Despite being drafted in the sixth round, Williams had upended other players with more experience such as Darnay Holmes in the fight for the third corner spot.

For all of these reasons, the Giants are said to be among the teams looking for another cornerback. The news was reported by Jeremy Fowler, who listed the Giants with multiple other teams that are currently monitoring the market.

Several teams have actively monitored the cornerback market in recent months, including the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Houston Texans and New York Giants. The position has only grown in importance because of injuries across the league.

With that being said, the Giants appear like more of a selling team than a buying team right now.

Despite a brief turnaround in week 4, injuries are only cementing the fact that the season looks over at this point in October. The Giants are unlikely to save their season by giving away resources in a trade, but GM Dave Gettleman may attempt it anyway knowing that his job is on the line right now.

As time runs out for the Giants to win with their current roster, it’s starting to look like shipping off players like Bradberry is more likely than bringing in help by giving more up – and the Giants might not be able to pay for it even if they wanted to, thanks to their rough salary cap situation.

Gettleman has hardly been easy to predict, however. If no one believes the Giants will make such a move, that may just be when they surprise us for better or worse.

New York Giants: Dave Gettleman open to negotiating contracts mid-season

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

Those who are already looking ahead to next season’s free agency may not have to wait so long for the New York Giants to make some moves. While General Manager Dave Gettleman has stayed away from negotiating new contracts during the season before, that appears to have changed. The shift may end up affecting some of the most relevant players for the Giants, such as running back Saquon Barkley and safety Jabrill Peppers.

“I think it depends upon the guy, I think it depends upon where the team‘s at. I used to feel that it was a bad idea, but not so much. Have I changed my idea on that? Yes, I’m a lot more flexible on that,” Gettleman told reporters on Tuesday when asked about his current position on negotiating contracts in-season.

He was specifically asked if Jabrill Peppers could be one of the players that enters early negotiations, but Gettleman refused to go into detail about specific contract situations.

Peppers is set to enter unrestricted free agency following this season. Due to the team’s depth at safety and their ability to recover from losing Peppers’ presence at the position, a trade before the deadline looks like a possible outcome to ensure that the Giants get something back rather than letting the player walk. If the Giants are planning on making such a move, it makes sense that Gettleman isn’t willing to speak publicly on Peppers’ contract just yet.

Saquon Barkley, on the other hand, is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023. Given his important role in the offense and the future of the franchise, it’s likely the Giants work out a deal before the point where Barkley hits the open market.

Could that deal make progress this season after Barkley makes his return? We’ll have to wait to find out, but much of it likely depends on just how fast Barkley gets back up to speed and whether his performance on the field gives him the leverage for a larger payday come contract time.

New York Giants: Dave Gettleman not on the hot seat, says Mara

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

This season may not only be a make or break one for New York Giants QB Daniel Jones, but also Dave Gettleman. After all, Gettleman constructed this current team as the general manager and can no longer point to problems such as the previous GM’s players or a lack of cap space to make moves with. For better or worse, Gettleman will likely be judged based on how the Giants perform during these next couple of seasons.

That might lead some to believe that Gettleman is on the hot seat and that he’ll quickly be out the door if the Giants don’t make a significant jump in performance. Gettleman, after all, was seemingly close to getting fired along with Pat Shurmur when the previous coaching staff was removed. For some, it’s hard to imagine the Giants continuing to give Gettleman chances even after keeping him around following that.

But there’s a different tune from co-owner John Mara, who claims that Gettleman is far from being on the hot seat. In an interview with the New York Post, he defended Gettleman and denied the hot seat rumors very directly.

What John Mara had to say

“Listen, I was frustrated the first couple of years the way the [seasons] ended. But the combination of Dave and Joe has produced very good personnel decisions, be it in free agency and in the draft. It’s a very good combination. We’ve made a lot of changes to our football operations staff, added some talented new people. I just feel like we’re moving in the right direction,” Mara said.

If that’s not enough to convince you, the fact that Mara denied the rumors straight up should be.

“No, you’re on the hot seat if you write any more stupid comments like that,” Mara said after being asked directly. He’d repeat the denial again for added measure, too.

For better or worse, it seems like Giants fans are stuck with Dave Gettleman for the forseeable future. At least, unless things take a drastically bad turn this season. But with the roster improving and the Giants bringing back a more experienced coaching staff after Joe Judge’s first season, that looks unlikely.

Whether or not Mara’s stance is a good thing or bad thing is up for debate – but there’s no mystery about what that stance is.

New York Giants: Dave Gettleman succeeded, found his “touchdown-makers” this offseason

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New York Giants, Kenny Golladay

Last month, New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman sat down in a press conference to recap the Giants’ offseason moves. During his discussion with the press, Gettleman mentioned that the Giants wanted to add “touchdown-makers” and feels that they had accomplished that goal.

“Touchdown-makers” is a term Dave Gettleman has used before. Upon drafting Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Gettleman described Barkley as a “touchdown-maker” and a “threat to take it to the house every time he gets his hands on the ball.”

Dave Gettleman claims to have found more “touchdown-makers” this offseason. And his claim is indeed accurate. The Giants had a successful offseason period that saw them acquire a plethora of talented playmakers on offense.

The New York Giants’ new “touchdown-makers”

The New York Giants’ offense was incompetent in 2020. The Giants’ offense was the 31st ranked unit in the NFL, averaging a putrid 17.5 points per game. Hence Dave Gettleman’s desire to add “touchdown-makers,” players that could put points on the board.

What better way to fix an incompetent offense than to sign the league leader in touchdown receptions from 2019? Kenny Golladay was that guy, hauling in an impressive 11 touchdown receptions in a breakout 2019 campaign. Golladay caught 65 passes that season for 1,190 receiving yards. He was still an alpha dog wide receiver in 2020, averaging 67.6 yards per game, prior to the season-ending injury that shut him down after just five games.

Similar to Saquon Barkley, 2021 first-round pick Kadarius Toney is a “threat to take it to the house every time he gets his hands on the ball.” Toney had the highest missed tackle rate (35%) among 2021 NFL Draft WRs (PFF). The dynamic UF playmaker racked up 10 touchdowns in his final collegiate season.

The Giants also added reliable tight end Kyle Rudolph to the lineup this offseason. Rudolph is on a shortlist of players with 15+ receiving touchdowns in the red zone since 2016. According to Paul Schwartz of the NY Post, of Kyle Rudolph’s 48 career touchdown receptions, 40 of them — 83.3 percent — have come in the red zone. The Giants added some big-play scorers with Toney and Golladay, but they were wise enough to add a short-range assassin in Rudolph as well.

And, of course, the Giants’ offense was without its original “touchdown-maker” for the majority of the 2020 season. Saquon Barkley tore his ACL in Week Two, spending the rest of the season on injured reserve. Now, fully healthy, Barkley will return to the lineup in 2021 and look to be that home-run threat the Giants’ offense grew accustomed to having. Saquon Barkley, Kadarius Toney, Kyle Rudolph, and Kenny Golladay will step into the Giants’ 2021 offense and make big plays.

New York Giants: No concern about Azeez Ojulari’s knee, says Gettleman

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new york giants, azeez ojulari

It’s looking more and more like the New York Giants were able to get a steal in the second round of the NFL Draft. The team took Georgia pass rusher Azeez Ojulari, who was one of the top ranked prospects at his position and definitely a first round talent. One of the main reasons for his fall into the second round is a knee problem that was reported a week before the draft. However, that problem appears to be of little concern to Dave Gettleman and the Giants.

Gettleman came out on WFAN on Monday and said that he didn’t know where the knee rumors came from. He also pointed out that the Giants had no concerns about Ojulari’s knee.

This seems in line with Ojulari’s college career. He did suffer an ACL tear in high school, but was a healthy player throughout his college career and further examination by James Andrews reportedly didn’t turn up any problems. The rumors about a degenerative knee condition came up only a week before the draft, and the exact source of where these ideas came from hasn’t been revealed.

If it’s true that there’s no real knee problems with Ojulari, it looks like the Giants came away with a massive steal due to his highly rated status before the draft. After all, some had linked Ojulari to the Giants with their first round pick in the weeks before the event. But after his slide, the Giants were able to acquire him without even spending a first round pick.

Giants’ GM Dave Gettleman says ‘you explore everything’ in regards to Aaron Rodgers rumors

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

If you’ve been following along with the Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay saga, you know that it took an interesting twist on Monday afternoon. Reportedly, Rodgers curated a list of teams he’d be willing to play for, and the New York Giants were surprisingly on the supposed list. While Rodgers has yet to confirm this is even true, let’s roll with this ridiculous rumor for the sake of the off-season.

Does this make any sense for the Giants? Absolutely not. While adding Rodgers would give them the potential to be a top 10 defense immediately, he would count $22.85 million against the cap. The Giants simply don’t have that much money available, even if they parted ways with Daniel Jones, due to his guaranteed money on his rookie contract. They would have to cut a variety of players, giving up money during the 2021 season just to fit Rodgers under their salary cap.

Is there any way the New York Giants could figure out the money?

Alternatively, they could ask Rodgers to tear up his contract and offer him an entirely new deal that would backload the money a few seasons. That would be the only way they can operate strategically, but Rodgers is currently 37 years old and not getting any younger, so his quality of play eventually will begin to deteriorate.

Even if he takes a step backward in his production, he still managed 48 touchdowns last season, a career-high that landed him on the All-Pro First Team. There’s no question that whatever offense he is on is immediately a contender, and the Giants arguably have more weapons on their unit than the Green Bay Packers.

Having recently acquired in Kadarius Toney in the 2021 NFL draft, the Giants are also expecting Saquon Barkley to return to full health this upcoming season, with the addition of Kenny Golladay as their WR1.

Rodgers would have himself a field day with the weapons the Giants currently possess, but again, the contract numbers simply don’t match up. Nonetheless, general manager Dave Gettleman stated that the Rodgers debacle was none of his business but then followed up on WFAN on Monday afternoon, stating, “you explore everything.”

Whether Gettleman loves to mess with the media or the fan base, he certainly stirred a ruckus on social media. While expecting anything to come from this rumor is optimistic and maybe even foolish, the Giants are clearly dedicated to Daniel Jones and his development, as their off-season would attest.

They’re hoping for a Josh Allen-like developmental jump this upcoming year, and after spending $70 million on Golliday and a first-round pick on another playmaker, Jones will have plenty of talent to utilize on offense.

New York Giants: Dave Gettleman addresses lack of trades back

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New York Giants, Dave Gettleman

New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman is well known for a few tendencies in the draft, but the most famous might be his lack of trades back. Gettleman famously hasn’t traded back in the first round and many have wondered whether that will be on the cards for the 2021 draft.

There has, of course, been a lot of speculation about this after the Giants addressed some of their biggest needs already in free agency.

With those needs handled, it’s unclear whether the team wants to spend the 11th pick anyway or get more in return for trading further down into the round.

Some might expect the Giants to continue with Gettleman’s pattern of not making these trades back, but according to him, he’s tried in the past. The circumstances just haven’t worked out to make it actually happen.

There’s a couple of different things this could mean.

One of them is that the Giants just haven’t gotten good trade offers and that they made the right move by not trading down. The alternative is that Gettleman has simply been too conservative with his decision making and the Giants have passed on deals that would have benefited them.

We can’t know which of those things is true because none of us except those in the organization know just which offers the Giants have received.

The fate of the team’s first round pick this year might very well depend on whether or not the Giants get an offer that amazes them. We’ll just have to wait and see as we get closer to the draft and more comes out about the team’s rumored strategy.