Tollefson Receives 2nd Round Tender; Wilkinson 3rd Round Tender: According to The Daily News and The Star-Ledger, soon-to-be restricted free agent DE Dave Tollefson has received a second-round tender from the Giants. By tendering Tollefson at that level, it pretty much guarantees that Tollefson will return to the Giants by signing the 1-year, $1.684 million tender.
If another team offers to sign Tollefson to a larger deal, the Giants now have the right to match that offer. If they do not, the Giants would receive that team’s 2nd round draft pick in the upcoming draft.
Restricted free agents can be tendered at the following levels: (1) the round that they were originally drafted at, (2) a second-round tender, (3) a first-round tender, or (4) a first- and third-round tender. The higher the tender, the more expensive the player is to re-sign. Tollefson was originally drafted in the 7th round, so the Giants felt it was worthwhile to tender him at a higher level.
Meanwhile, The Daily News and The Star-Ledger are reporting that LB Gerris Wilkinson was tendered at the lowest level, meaning the round that he was drafted at, the third round. The tender is a 1-year, $1.176 million offer. It should be noted that Wilkinson will only be restricted free agent if there is no renewed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by the time free agency begins, which is looking more and more likely.
A complete list of the Giants soon-to-be free agents is available in the Free Agent Scoreboard section of the website.
Article on DT Jay Alford: Man in the Middle by Michael Eisen of Giants.com
Giants.com Tribute to LB Antonio Pierce: The Giants have created a video tribute to recently-waived linebacker Antonio Pierce at Giants.com.
