This may be a good news – bad news situation for the New York Giants.
On the good side of the ledger, the New York Giants actually participated in three trades that ESPN deemed impactful. On the negative side, Bill Barnwell was not apparently enamored of the deal that brought Alec Ogletree from the Los Angeles Rams to the G-Men.
With new general manager Dave Gettleman in charge, Big Blue actually appears to be having conversations around the league. That certainly can be considered a positive development.
It’s also a stark departure from the Jerry Reese era, which was mainly populated by big money free agent signings.
If you recall, the Giants surrendered two draft picks for Ogeltree and 2019 seventh round selection. Big Blue gave up a fourth round pick (No. 135) and a sixth round pick (No. 176). The kicker was and is that the New York Giants assumed Ogletree’s contract.
According to Spotrac:
“Alec Ogletree signed a 4 year, $42,750,000 contract with the Los Angeles Rams, including a $8,000,000 signing bonus, $21,369,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $10,687,500. In 2019, Ogletree will earn a base salary of $4,000,000 and a roster bonus of $6,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $11,750,000 and a dead cap value of $5,250,000.”
Gettleman mitigated some of the impact of the contract when he converted his $7 million roster bonus into signing bonus, thus clearing $5.25 million in cap space for the New York Giants.
The contract appears to run through the 2021 NFL season, but there’s an out clause after the 2019 season. One would think that Gettleman didn’t make this deal to get two years out of the former Bulldogs star.
Per ESPN:
“The Georgia product didn’t dramatically propel the Giants’ defense forward — it ranked 24th in defensive DVOA for the second consecutive season — but he did rack up two short pick-sixes, which is fun.”
It’s tough to pin so much blame on Ogletree for the woes of the New York Giants defense. Simply put, there were a lot of issues. Barnwell give the trade D+ grade, and since there are no F’s, let’s assume the deal gets two thumbs down from ESPN.
Conversely, Ogletree provided leadership on a unit that desperately needs a vocal presence. Ogletree doesn’t seem to grade out well, but he certainly passes on eye test on the field.
