New York Giants Unlikely to Use Franchise Tag

New York Giants Unlikely to Use Franchise Tag: Giants’ President/CEO John Mara said yesterday that the Giants will not likely protect a free agent with the Franchise Tag this offseason. Teams around the NFL have until March 4 to make a decision on whether or not to use the tag this offseason.

The Giants have used the Franchise Tag twice in recent years, including on HB Brandon Jacobs in 2009 and on P Steve Weatherford in 2012. The only other time the team has used it was in 1993 with LT Jumbo Elliott.

The most likely possibility for the Franchise Tag is soon-to-be unrestricted free agent LT Will Beatty. According to The Daily News, Beatty is the Giants’ number one free agent re-signing priority. But the Franchise Tag on a left tackle would tie up almost $10 million against the 2013 salary cap. Other possible but unlikely candidates include S Kenny Phillips, TE Martellus Bennett, and PK Lawrence Tynes.

John Mara Doesn’t Think Tom Coughlin is Close to Retirement: Giants’ President/CEO John Mara was asked yesterday when Head Coach Tom Coughlin might retire.

“No, I haven’t had that discussion with him yet,” said Mara. “I don’t see him going to Florida to play shuffleboard any time soon. I think he’s still got a lot of fire left in him and he’s still a great coach. Hopefully he’s going to be around for many more years.”

New York Giants Hire New Defensive Quality Control Coach: Though not officially announced, according to press reports, the Giants have hired Robbie Leonard (NC State) as the team’s new defensive quality control. In January, the Carolina Panthers hired Giants’ Defensive Quality Control Coach Al Holcomb as their new linebackers coach.

Giants.com Q&A With OT James Brewer: The video of a Q&A session with OT James Brewer is available at Giants.com.

NFL Network Interview With CB Terrell Thomas: The video of yesterday’s NFL Network interview with CB Terrell Thomas is available at Giants.com.

Article on HB Andre Brown: Brown Confident He Can Fill Bradshaw’s Shoes by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post

Article on LB Chase Blackburn: Giants Aim to Re-Sign LB by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post

Articles on CB Terrell Thomas:

• Terrell Thomas Thinks Giants Coach Tom Coughlin Has ‘One More’ Season Left by Jenny Vrentas of The Star-Ledger
• New York Giants Cornerback Terrell Thomas’ Latest Comeback Driven by Faith by Patricia Traina for Yahoo! Sports

Article on the Giants’ Special Teams: Positional Analysis: Special Teams by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com