Dalvin Tomlinson: I'd Be "More Than Happy To Stay"
With free agency set to begin this week, the New York Giants have some tough personnel decisions to make due to their limited salary cap space.
One such decision involves defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, a Giants homegrown product expected to draw significant interest in the open market.
Tomlinson, whom the Giants are believed to be interested in re-signing, could end up leaving if another team with more salary-cap space comes along to entice him with a blockbuster type of deal.
Tomlinson, the Giants’ second-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, told Giants Country in an exclusive phone interview that he remains hopeful of working something out with the only NFL team he’s known in his career thus far.
“When you get drafted by a team, you always see yourself back there because that’s your home,” Tomlinson said last week. “So of course, I can see myself back there and I would be more than happy to stay. But it’s a business and with the cap space (situation), I just have to take it one day at a time. But I always see it as a possibility for me to be a New York Giant for life.”
The Giants recently placed the franchise tag ($19.3 million) on defensive lineman Leonard Williams but are thought to be working fervently to sign him to a new deal that would lower his cap figure and potentially create enough breathing room for something to get done with Tomlinson.
While it does appear that Williams is being prioritized, Tomlinson holds no ill-will against the Giants.
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“He’s a great player, (I have) nothing but respect for my guy,” Tomlinson said. “He’s like a brother and I am happy he’s going to come back to the Giants. Hopefully he will have the same season he had before, if not better,” said Tomlinson.
During his time with the Giants, Tomlinson has endured many losses in his four years since the Giants drafted him as the team has gone 18-46, the league’s worst record during this span.
But last season, there appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel as the team showed the most promise the team has shown since Tomlinson arrived in East Rutherford, thanks in part to first-year head coach Joe Judge and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
According to Tomlinson, it would be “amazing” to be able to see things through after the progress he and his Giants’ teammates have made together under the new coaching staff.
“Everyone wants to be a part of something they helped start. It would be a blessing to be back in New York with the Giants to say the least. What we are building reminds me of old school Giants football,” he said.
On an appearance on The Giants Huddle Podcast, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport hinted that the Giants might make a more considerable effort to retain Tomlinson than initially anticipated.
“It sounds like he is a priority [for the Giants],” Rapoport said. “Now I know he’s going to be coveted. If you’re a team like the Giants, you draft well enough where a mid-rounder becomes a really coveted free agent, that’s someone you’d like to keep.
“I think for Dalvin Tomlinson, the interesting thing for the Giants is not that he’s a very good player, he is a very good player, but he’s also a leader. You rarely have leaders on the defensive line. It just doesn’t always happen that way.”
Rapoport added, “(Tomlinson’s) value is great on the free agent market. It might be greater with the Giants because of how he leads the team and how the players interact with him. He’s important. I don’t know if they’ll be able to keep him, but he is very important to this team.”
Tomlinson was named a team captain last season and is highly regarded in the Giants’ locker room and the community.
The 27-year-old was a 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee, recognized in part for his philanthropist efforts in organizations such as the American Diabetes Association’s “Team Tackle Initiative,” the American Cancer Society’s “Crucial Catch Ambassador” program, the “Fuel Up to Play 60” program, and with Kate’s Club in Atlanta and Good Grief in New Jersey.
While Tomlinson is happy to devote his name and his time to all of the organizations e supports, Kate’s Club and Good Grief are two in particular that resonates with him because they assist young people who have lost a parent or a close loved one deal with the grieving process, something Tomlinson himself had to deal with when, by the time he had turned 17 years old, he had lost both his parents.
“My mom (Melinda) pretty much raised me to always give back to others in need,” Tomlinson said. “Kate’s Club and Good Grief are two organizations that I actually feel the pain of the kids, parents and families involved in those organizations, so I just want to help them through the grieving process,” said Tomlinson.
“I wish I knew about this when I was growing up,” he continued. “Everything they are doing is amazing. There are younger kids that are going through the grieving process and don’t know how to deal with it. It’s tough to process for everyone. Just to hear people’s stories and all of them are very touching. It’s just a great organization to help people through the process.”
Tomlinson used his platform with the Giants, and his nomination was the Walter Payton MOTY award to remind people that there are support systems out there to help them through difficult stretches of grief.
“The (Walter Payton Man of the Year Award) nomination meant a lot to even get the word further out there about Good Grief and Kids Club. I am so happy for that because a lot of people in the country don’t even know about the programs who are in need of the programs.”
Tomlinson himself was blessed with a rock-solid support system that included his older brother, aunt, uncle, and cousin. The adversity they went through together brought them closer as a family, and he makes sure he is around his loved ones as much as possible, especially during the offseason.
This year has been no different, as he’ll spend as much time as possible with his family before reporting to wherever he’ll be playing in 2021.
The Giants hope that will be with them in East Rutherford.
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