Mar 282022
 
Max Garcia, Arizona Cardinals (October 6, 2021)

Max Garcia – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS SIGN MAX GARCIA…
The New York Giants have signed unrestricted free agent guard/center Max Garcia (Arizona Cardinals) to a 1-year contract.

The 30-year old, 6’4”, 309-pound Garcia was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. The Cardinals signed him as an unrestricted free agent in March 2019. Garcia has played in 93 regular-season games with 52 starts. In 2021, he started 11-of-15 games for the Cardinals. Garcia is a versatile performer with starts at left guard, right guard, and center.

For an overview of all Giants’ free agent signings, see the 2022 New York Giants Free Agent Signings and New York Giants 2022 Free Agency Scorecard sections of the website.

ARIZONA CARDINALS SIGN WILL HERNANDEZ…
The Arizona Cardinals have signed New York Giants unrestricted free agent offensive guard Will Hernandez.

In his fourth year with the Giants, despite a promising rookie season and starting 56 of the 62 games he has played in, Hernandez did not progress as a player. He continued to consistently struggle in pass protection, especially on against twists and stunts. Hernandez was also flagged six times in 2021, with four false starts.

The Giants selected Hernandez in the 2nd round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was named named to Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team. After starting every game in his first two years in the league at left guard in 2018 and 2019, Hernandez lost his starting position to Shane Lemieux in 2020 after the seventh game of the season. Hernandez also missed two games in early November that season due to COVID-19. The Giants shifted him to right guard in 2021, and he started all 17 games at that position.

For an overview of all Giants’ free agent signings, see the 2022 New York Giants Free Agent Losses and New York Giants 2022 Free Agency Scorecard sections of the website.

JOHN MARA ADDRESSES THE PRESS…
New York Giants team President/CEO John Mara spoke to the media on Sunday at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.

“I don’t think it’s a very high bar to improve over last year, but we’ve got some draft capital,” said Mara. “I think we’ve signed some pretty good players so far. I really like the staff that (Head Coach) Brian (Daboll) has put together. I do think we’ll be a much better team. But I know those words are shallow right now until we actually start playing. Hopefully, we’ll have a better injury situation than we’ve had. We’ve taken a hard look at our practices and what we need to change, and I expect us and hope that we’ll be a lot healthier next year.”

Mara talked about the team’s approach to sign cheaper free agents. “Sometimes, modest is good,” Mara said. “We’ve been in situations where we’ve spent pretty aggressively; it hasn’t always worked out. Sometimes getting guys who are a little less expensive but fulfill important roles for you is the way to go and that is where we are right now. We don’t have a choice, but I think we’ll be in a very good cap situation next year.”

Mara on quarterback Daniel Jones: “I think he’s shown enough when we had the right pieces around him and when we’ve been relatively healthy, he’s shown enough talent to make us believe that we can win with him, I’ve been quoted over and over again about all the problems that we’ve caused for him by the lack of continuity and the lack of stability. We’ve got to help him become a good player, become a better player and hopefully, we’ll do that this year. The head coach and the general manager have both been very impressed with him so far. He’s got everything that you want. We just have to, number one, keep him healthy and, number two, put the right pieces around him.”

On if a decision has been made on picking up Jones’ fifth year option by the May 2nd deadline: “That’s not a decision we’ve made as of yet. That’s a discussion we’ll be having over the next month or so.”

On cutting safety Logan Ryan: “It was a decision that Brian (Daboll) and (General Manager) Joe (Schoen) made and decided that they wanted to move on, so I wasn’t going to block it. I was sorry to see him go. I thought he was a good player. I thought he did some great things for us in the community, but again, the head coach and the general manager make a football decision and I’m not going to block it.”

On the possibility of having to cut cornerback James Bradberry in order to create cap space: “That would hurt, because he’s been a very good player and he has been the consummate professional for us. But the cap situation is what it is, so we’d have to consider all options there.”

On if running back Saquon Barkley will be traded: “We’re not shopping Saquon, but Joe’s the general manager and if he and the head coach want to make a personnel decision and they have a conviction about it, I’m not going to interfere with it. That’s not something that we’re actively looking to do, let’s put it that way… I’m certainly conscious of (Barkley’s market value as a “star”), but I don’t think it’s a major factor. At the end of the day, put the best possible team on the field and build for the future. I like him. He’s been a great representative for us. I still think he’s a really good player. I think he could potentially have a very big year this year, but at the end of the day, the head coach and the general manager make those decisions.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.