Drew Lock Competing for Starting Job?; Giants Sign Two Tight Ends

 Posted by
Mar 152024
 
Jack Stoll, Philadelphia Eagles (November 26, 2023)

Jack Stoll – © USA TODAY Sports

DREW LOCK COMPETING FOR STARTING JOB?…
Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider said on a Seattle radio show that the team wanted to re-sign unrestricted free agent quarterback Drew Lock, but the New York Giants “basically sold him on the opportunity to compete to be the starter. And he felt like it was the right opportunity. He looked at Baker Mayfield’s opportunity last year (with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and felt that this could be something similar.”

In a media session with the New York/New Jersey media on Friday, Lock denied the report.

GIANTS SIGN TIGHT END JACK STOLL AND CHRIS MANHERTZ…
The Giants have signed free agent tight ends Jack Stoll (Philadelphia Eagles) and Chris Manhertz (Denver Broncos). Stoll’s contract is reportedly a 1-year deal. The Eagles chose not to tender him as a potential restricted free agent. Manhertz was released by the Broncos on March 8th.

The 26-year old, 6’4”, 247-pound Stoll was originally signed by the Eagles as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2021 NFL Draft. In his three seasons with the Eagles, Stoll has played in 50 regular-season games with 26 starts, accruing 20 catches for 183 yards. He is a good blocker and was a core special teams player for the Eagles.

The 31-year old, 6’6”, 235-pound Manhertz was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Buffalo Bills after the 2015 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Bills, New Orleans Saints (2015-2016), Carolina Panthers (2016-2020), Jacksonville Jaguars (2021-2022), and Broncos (2023). In his eight NFL seasons, Manhertz has played in 120 regular-season games with 53 starts, catching 26 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. He is a strong blocker.

GIANTS SIGN GUARD AARON STINNIE…
The Giants have signed unrestricted free agent offensive guard Aaron Stinnie (Tampa Bay Buccaneers). The 30-year old, 6’3”, 312-pound Stinnie was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. The Titans waived him in November 2019 and he was then claimed by the Buccaneers. In his five NFL seasons, Stinnie has played in 31 regular-season games with 12 starts, 11 of which came in 2023.

GIANTS RE-SIGN LAWRENCE CAGER AND BENTON WHITLEY…
The Giants have re-signed tight end Lawrence Cager, who was eligible to become a restricted free agent, and outside linebacker Benton Whitley, who was eligible to become an exclusive rights free agent.

Cager spent the first six games of 2023 on the 53-man roster, spent two weeks on the Practice Squad, and then spent the next seven games on the 53-man roster. The Giants placed him on Injured Reserve in late December 2023 with a groin injury. In all, Cager played in 11 games with no starts, catching just four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown. He played in just 15 percent of offensive snaps in those 11 games.

The 6’5”, 220-pound Cager was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New York Jets after the 2020 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Jets (2020-2021, 2022) and Cleveland Browns (2021). The Jets cut him in October 2022 and the Giants immediately signed him to the Practice Squad that same month and the 53-man roster in November 2022. He ended up playing in six regular-season games with three starts, catching 13 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. Cager has played in 21 regular-season games with five starts.

The Giants signed Whitley off of the Practice Squad of the Minnesota Vikings in November 2023. He played in three games for the Giants, receiving just a handful of defensive snaps, before being ruled inactive in the last three contests. The 6’4”, 260-pound Whitley was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Los Angeles Rams after the 2022 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Rams (2022), Kansas City Chiefs (2022), and Vikings (2022-2023). Before coming to the Giants, Whitley had only played in one regular-season game.

BEN BREDESON SIGNS WITH BUCCANEERS…
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed New York Giants unrestricted free agent offensive lineman Ben Bredeson. The deal is reportedly a 1-year contract worth up to $3.5 million.

Bredeson saw time at training camp at both guard positions and center, not being locked into one position. This continued into the regular season as Bredeson started four games at left guard, four at center, and eight at right guard. He started 16 games, missing Week 3 with a concussion. Bredeson was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. The Giants acquired Bredeson by trade from the Ravens in late August 2021. Hampered by hand and ankle injuries, he only started one game for the Giants in 2021. Bredeson started eight games for the Giants in 2022 at left guard, but also missed six games due to a knee injury.

To see an overview of the Giants’ free agent activity, see the New York Giants 2024 Free Agency Scorecard section of the website.

THE NEW GIANTS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube, as well as video of exclusive Giants.com sit-downs with the players:

Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney Depart; Giants Sign Two

 Posted by
Mar 112024
 
Jon Runyan, Jr., Green Bay Packers (October 9, 2022)

Jon Runyan, Jr. – © USA TODAY Sports

EAGLES SIGN SAQUON BARKLEY…
The Philadelphia Eagles have signed New York Giants unrestricted free agent running back Saquon Barkley. The contract is reportedly a 3-year, $37.75 million deal that could be worth up to $46.75 million and includes $26 million in guaranteed money.

According to The New York Post, the Giants did not make an offer to Barkley.

Hampered by instability and poor play at quarterback and the offensive line, as well as another lower body injury, Barkley did not have the season hoped for in 2023. Barkley suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 2 and missed the next three games. Playing in a total of 14 contests, he finished the 2023 season with 247 carries for 962 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and six rushing touchdowns. He also caught 41 passes for 280 yards and four receiving touchdowns.

The Giants drafted Barkley with the #2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. In his six seasons with the Giants, he has broken the 1,000-yard rushing mark three times (2018, 2019, and 2022). Barkley has missed games due to injury in four seasons, including a high-ankle sprain in 2019 (three games), a torn ACL and meniscus in 2020 (14 games), another ankle injury in 2021 (four games), and the ankle sprain in 2023 (three games). The ankle injuries suffered in those three seasons also nagged him in other games he did play.

Barkley’s best season was clearly his rookie year. He became only the third rookie in NFL history to accrue 2,000 yards from scrimmage, breaking a slew of franchise records. Barkley’s second best season was in 2022. He finished the season with a career-high 295 rushing attempts for 1,312 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns. He also caught a team-leading 57 passes for 338 yards.

PACKERS SIGN XAVIER McKINNEY…
The Green Bay Packers have signed New York Giants unrestricted free agent safety Xavier McKinney. The contract is reportedly a 4-year, $68 million deal.

In his four seasons with the Giants, McKinney has had two that stand out and where he played every game, 2021 and 2023. McKinney not only played in every contest in 2023, but he played every single defensive snap (1,128). He finished the season with 116 tackles (second-highest on the team), two tackles for losses, 0.5 sacks, one quarterback hit, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, three interceptions (team high), and 11 pass defenses (tied for team high).

The Giants drafted McKinney in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He missed 10 games in his rookie season with a fractured left foot that required surgery, playing in six contests with four starts. In 2021, McKinney had a breakout season. He played in all 17 games with 16 starts, and finished the season with 88 tackles, 10 pass defenses, and a team-high five interceptions (one of which he returned for a touchdown). McKinney saw nearly half his 2022 season wiped out due to an off-the-field ATV accident during the bye week that caused multiple fractures in his left hand, requiring surgery.

GIANTS SIGN JON RUNYAN, JR. AND DEVIN SINGLETARY…
The Giants have signed unrestricted free agents offensive guard Jon Runyan, Jr. (Green Bay Packers) and running back Devin Singletary (Houston Texans). Runyan’s contract is reportedly a 3-year, $30 million deal that includes $17 million in guaranteed money. Singletary’s contract is reportedly a 3-year, $16.5 million deal that could be worth as much as $19.5 million.

The 26-year old, 6’4”, 307-pound Runyan, Jr. was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. In his four seasons with the Packers, Runyan has played in 67 regular-season games with 50 starts. He has experience at playing both guard spots. Runyan is a better pass protector than run blocker.

The 26-year old, 5’7”, 203-pound Singletary was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. After four seasons with the Bills, Singletary signed a 1-year contract with the Houston Texans. In his five NFL seasons, Singletary has played in 78 regular-season games with 66 starts, rushing 888 times for 4,049 yards (4.6 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns. He has also caught 175 passes for 1,164 yards and four touchdowns.

GIANTS RE-SIGN GUNNER OLSZEWSKI AND CARTER COUGHLIN…
The New York Giants are re-signing unrestricted free agents wide receiver/returner Gunner Olszewski and linebacker/special teams player Carter Coughlin. The contracts for Olszewski and Carter are reportedly 1-year deals.

The Giants originally signed Olszewski to the Practice Squad and then 53-man roster in late October 2023 in order to bolster the punt return unit. Though considered more a returner than actual receiver, Olszewski did receive a handful of offensive snaps with no catches. He returned 23 punts, averaging 11.9 yards per return, and scored on a 94-yard punt return.

The 6’0”, 190-pound Olszewski was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2019 NFL Draft. After three seasons with the Patriots, Olszewski signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March 2022. The Steelers waived him in October 2023. Olszewski was named first-team All-Pro as a punt returner in 2020. He has played in 65 regular-season games with four starts, catching 15 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown. He also has carried the ball 14 times for 71 yards. Olszewski has returned 41 kickoffs for 904 yards (22 yards per return) and 98 punts for 1,170 yards (11.9 yards per return) and two touchdowns. Olszewski has 11 career fumbles.

Drafted in the 7th round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Giants, Coughlin has become almost exclusively a special teams player. In the past two seasons, Carter has only received eight total defensive snaps while playing in over 85 percent of special teams snaps. In 2023, playing in all 17 games, Carter led the team with nine special teams tackles. Coughlin has not been used much on defense since his rookie season.

To see an overview of the Giants’ free agent activity, see the New York Giants 2024 Free Agency Scorecard section of the website.