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If there ever were a player who needed a fresh start it was Evan Engram. And the former Giants tight end will get that fresh start in Jacksonville.
After five years with the Giants, Engram welcomed a change of scenery and secured that change on Monday when he came to a contract agreement with the Jaguars on a one-year deal worth $9 million — all of it guaranteed. Additionally, there is a possibility of earning an additional $1 million if he reaches certain incentives.
Engram, 27, was the Giants’ 2017 first-round pick and in five seasons (65 games) he caught 262 passes for 2,828 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also caught a great deal of grief for dropped passes, injuries and all the losing the Giants endured in his time with the team. His departure — fully anticipated — makes him yet another first-round pick to leave without a second contract.
The Giants will shop the low end of the market to find a tight end.
The Giants, as expected, made an offer to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who, as expected, realized there was a better place for him to land as he agreed to a two-year deal with the Steelers.
Get the latest updates on NFL free agency 2022 with live coverage from the New York Post.
Terms of the Trubisky deal were not immediately available.
The Giants did not have the money or the opportunity Trubisky wanted. If he signed with the Giants he would have been in a competition with Daniel Jones for the starting job. The Giants will look elsewhere for an upgrade. Colt McCoy re-signed with the Cardinals and even his modest two-year, $7.5 million deal might be too pricey for the Giants. Marcus Mariota and Tyrod Taylor are options.
With a tight budget to adhere to, it was the anticipated tepid start to free agency for the Giants. They signed wide receiver Robert Foster, a player with ties to new head coach Brian Daboll and new general manager Joe Schoen.
Foster, 27, was at Alabama during Daboll’s one year (2017) as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Foster entered the NFL in 2018 as an undrafted player, signing with the Bills, where he reunited with Daboll. Schoen at the time was the assistant general manager in Buffalo.
In 30 NFL games, Foster has 32 receptions for 642 yards and three touchdowns. He last played in the NFL in 2020 with Washington. He was on the Cowboys practice squad in 2021, signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys but was waived last week.
The Giants also re-signed receiver C.J. Board.
News that the Bills released offensive lineman Daryl Williams certainly reverberated inside the Giants’ facility. Williams, 29, is exactly what the Giants need. He is healthy, durable and can play right tackle or move inside to guard. The Bills parted ways with Williams to save $6.3 million on their 2022 salary cap.
The Giants more than any other team in the NFL know whether Williams is worth pursuing. Schoen, Daboll and the new offensive line coach Bobby Johnson all came over from Buffalo, where Williams played the past two seasons, starting all 33 regular-season games, plus all five starts in the postseason.
Last season, Williams played 600 snaps at right guard and 571 snaps at right tackle. The Giants have openings at both spots.
Schoen has already pared about $25 million off the cap and the Giants head into free agency about $7 million-$8 million under the cap. Schoen has said he wanted to eventually free up $40 million in cap space to participate in free agency to some degree and also so he can comfortably operate the team’s roster.
There are looming questions remaining on the Giants’ payroll. Trading away cornerback James Bradberry saves $12.1 million on the cap. Trading away running back Saquon Barkley saves $7.2 million on the cap. In Barkley’s case, the money is completely guaranteed as the fifth-year option — something teams interested in acquiring Barkley will have to consider.
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