Julius Peppers went to Chicago yesterday and came away $91 million richer. Karlos Dansby, who was supposed to be courted by a slew of teams, was only offered a contract by the Miami Dolphins. He took it.
And Antrel Rolle, a safety coming off of a Pro Bowl year, was made the richest at his position by the New York Giants.
So much for the bidding wars. We now know the strategies of the majority of NFL teams. They are choosing to be cautious. The Bears and Giants were desperate for players at those positions. The Dolphins turned out ot be the only destination Dansby wanted to land.
The rest of the league is taking a powder. There were some other moves. Detroit made some moves, but they need to make so many moves that whatever they do seem inconsequential. The Bears also signed Chester Taylor, who will finally become a featured back at the age of 30.
Atlanta made a solid move by inking Houston’s talented CB, Dunta Robinson. The Cardinals continued to reshape their roster by shipping WR Anquan Boldin to Baltimore for draft choices.
Perhaps the exodus of major players in Arizona helped Rolle’s decision to take the Giants’ money a bit easier. It was thought that Rolle’s agent may try to take a Giant offer and leverage it vs others, drawing out the process, but that never materialized.
Rolle fills a gaping hole in the Giants’ secondary. Unfortunately, it’s at free safety – the position where Kenny Phillips has been penciled in. What will the Giants do? Or is there something we don’t know about Phillips’ future?
The Giants and Kenny Phillips have both assured the public that Phillips’ knee rehab is on schedule, yet they went out yesterday and paid Antrel Rolle $37 million dollars to play Phillips’ position. For a team that claimed they were going to double-count their chips before every move, this quick strike to secure a free safety seems dubious.
The Giants’ made Kenny Phillips their first round selection in 2008 because he had the same attributes as another University of Miami safety- the late Sean Taylor. Rolle is also a former Hurricane. In fact, when Taylor left for the NFL in 2004, Rolle took his slot in Miami and became a consensus All-American.
The signing of Rolle certainly helps the Giants at safety. But is he Phillips’ new partner or his replacement?
Let’s hope it’s the former. Does this also mean that they are not expecting Kenny Phillips to fulfill his promise? Will they take Taylor Mays or Earl Thomas if either player falls to them in the draft? We shall see….
On a side note, the Dolphins released former Giant safety Gibril Wilson yesterday. I wonder if the Giants would consider bringing him back…? Are the Giants still looking for inside LB help? And if so, who might be on their radar now that Dansby and Gary Brackett are no longer possibilities?
The Eagles released LB Will Witherspoon yesterday. He’s still got some mojo left. He may be worth a look. Then there are the RFAs. Kirk Morrison of Oakland and Cleveland’s D’Qwell Jackson have been mentioned.
The opinion of this writer, that is if the Giants want a real MLB, they send an offer sheet to Houston’s DeMeco Ryans. Only 25, Ryans is the league’s next big superstar at the position. He was recently tendered at the highest level (a 1st and 3rd round pick) by the Texans and is going to be offered a long term deal.
Take a shot, Jerry Reese. You have our permission. As Clint Eastwood said in The Outlaw Josey Wales….Are you goin to pull those pistols or just stand there whistlin’ dixie…?
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I wish Reese would have at least made Dansby an offer. I’m just saying. I’m pretty sure that the Giants are still at least the most attractive team for an NFL FA. Why not feel him out?
Apparently. Dansby was only interested in Miami….seems to be a warm weather thing…can’t blame him for that
He’s a young man. He’s got his whole life to enjoy the warm weather. Giants had some real Sb viability. No he’s stuck in Bill Parcell’s purgatory for the rest of his career. I guess players aint cut like they used to be. This would be like Rodman turning down Chicago to play for the Heat.
Did I miss something?… did the Bears already fall out of favor with Matt Forte to make Taylor the featured back? If anything, I think they would platoon the backs with Forte getting the majority of the carries… being that he isn’t 30.
I agree. Forte should still be the feature back shouldering a majority of the load.
a) we’re talking about the Bears here…and b) you don’t pay a guy $7 million up front and have him watch…he’s going to get touches….
Forte will, too…as is the case with all 32 teams now, RB is a communal position
This is by far my least favorite write on this website. This has cleared up things immensly. By signing Rolle, they will move one of either him or Phillips to SS, whoever they deem can fit better there. And with the dolphins getting dansby, which I hoped for, they Giants are in the clear to have Rolando McClain fall into their laps. For those who don’t know, McClain is a younger, faster, better version of Pierce. he is exactly what they need in theior D and these two moves alone will shore up the D in a huge way. And this is also not counting the fact that Jerry will likely work some draft day magic and get some gems, hopefully another nice CB to addd to the group; Im loving the signing
By the tone of their voices and looks on their faces when Phillips’ name is mentioned, neither Jerry Reese nor Tom Coughlin is planning on having a healthy Kenny Phillips any time soon….they won’t either….until they actually see him run again
I know. They now have the two most talanted Safety combos in the NFL. How anybody with a brain can say they may sit/get rid of Phillips is beyond me. I think Phillips will be better suited at his current FS position. He is a ballhawking machine. Meanwhile Rolle, who was a conerback by trade, will be able to cover better while still making his plays at SS. Im liking this move a crazy amount. Here comes ROLANDO!
I would LOVE Rolando….. TRADE UP!!! TRADE UP!! TRADE UP!!
Phillips is not getting traded or benched. He’s still hurt.
If Phillips comes back 100% and can continue where he left off, this is a great move. But Phillips has not begun running at this point, and no one is sure when that will happen.
The Rolle signing appears on the surface to be one of augmentation, but in reality Rolle may be replacing Phillips
The question with Phillips is to whether his knee is actually recoverable. He has an arthritic condition and generally those things are career enders. If I were the Giants I would still draft a safety later, maybe a guy like Myron Rolle or Eddie Hicks has a nice 40 and some good production behind it.
I wouldn’t trade up to get McClain. If he falls and Taylor Mays is off the board I would consider taking McClain. I still have some doubts about his range and speed.
good points as usual….Rolle and Phillips together would be a great tandem. Until we see it happen, we can’t count on it.
If Phillips cannot make it back for the season and goes on the PUP list, Rolle will actually be taking his place until week 6 or beyond
If you are going to draft a MLB with your first pick in the draft like McClain OR Trade up for him like many people on this site have suggested then why not go after a guy like Ryans? If McClain falls to use at 15 that means all we had to give up for Ryans was a 3rd rounder for a guy who is ONLY 25 and has established himself as someone who can play at the highest of levels in the NFL.
If you draft McClain you don’t know what you are going to get ESPECIALLY if you put him in a 4-3 defense which many of us have questioned if that is the best fit for him. I’d rather have Ryans, pay him his money, and have a force in the middle of our defense for the next 7-8 years.
I’d rather have the pick. I mean, I see your logic but I don’t agree with it. I just don’t think that the Giants are that hard up for a starting MLB that they have to give up a 1st and a 3rd round pick to get one. Those are precious commodities in a draft this deep. Remember, Tiki Barber was like a 5th or 6th round pick. He ended up being one of the greatest Giants to wear the uniform. Don’t sleep on draft picks.
If you consider that the Giants have a couple of good reserve MLBs, that you have about 7-8 LBs in the draft that have starting potential at MLB, and then the fact that the team didn’t even make an offer to the one stud UFA linebacker available it just wouldn’t make sense to give up that much.