The New York Giants opened free agency with their finger on the pulse. They had a plethora of needs and immediately dove in, signing a series of players out of the gate, making some massive trades and poking around just about everyone.
However, in recent weeks, things have come to a dead stop. Not only have the Giants ceased adding new free agents, they aren’t in active negotiations with anyone.
With the 2019 NFL Draft on tap and limited cap space, it’s not exactly a surprise, but with key needs not guaranteed to be filled come draft time, you’d think general manager Dave Gettleman would at least be doing a little something.
But there may be a method to his madness. Unlike his predecessor, Jerry Reese, Gettleman channels Bill Belichick in his desire to compile as many draft picks as possible. One of the easiest ways to do that is to manage free agent signings to yield additional compensatory picks.
Since the onset of free agency, the Giants’ entire approach has been built around that and to date, they’re projected to pick up a few based on the compensatory pick formula.
It’s also why the team is no longer active in the free agent market. At least for now.
Nick Korte of Over the Cap reports that the Giants risk losing compensatory picks if they sign any additional free agents prior to May 7. And if they were to sign more than one, the cost could become more steep.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, even with several in-house free agents available for the taking, the Giants can’t gain any additional non-seventh round compensatory picks from this point forward.
Needless to say, don’t expect the Giants to be very active in what remains of free agency over the next several weeks. Unless a previous interest (see: Mike Remmers) moves to sign with another team, they are likely to remain silent and focused on the draft.
