New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has not spoken publicly since the beginning of training camp — July 26 to be exact — so anyone who claims to know why he’s made certain moves this season is simply speculating, present company included.
With Giants sitting at 2-6 and the future uncertain (except at quarterback), fans would like to hear from Gettleman. Perhaps he’ll decide to speak this week, as we are officially in the middle of the season at the eight game mark. Or, maybe he’ll wait until the Giants’ bye week in Week 11.
The fans will want to know why the Giants decided to be buyers rather than sellers at this week’s trading deadline. Instead of unloading the bloated contracts of several veterans, he traded a third- and fifth-round draft picks to the Jets for defensive linemen Leonard Williams.
The only Gettleman output we get these days is through head coach Pat Shurmur, who toes the company line when it comes to speaking about the inner workings of the Giants’ organization. It’s clear that Gettleman is in charge.
“We talk about everything,” Shurmur said on Monday when asked how much input he has in making personnel decisions. “We talk about everything with regard to how the games play out, we talk about everything personnel wise. Put trades aside, we’re always making little roster adjustments each week, depending on covering up for injuries or trying to improve the roster. We talk. It’s pretty fluid in terms of our conversation.”
Some have suggested that Gettleman has not appeared in public because of health reasons. But that doesn’t seem right. He had been treated for lymphoma last year and by the way he conducted himself this spring and summer, had appeared to be his old self and fairly healthy.
Then there are others who speculate that the feud with Mike Francesa and his treatment by other media outlets have led him to become more guarded. Never at a loss for words, Gettleman might feel the best way to avoid putting his foot in his mouth is to stay away from situations where he might do.
