Should Pending UFA Cor'Dale Flott Be Viewed as a Long-term Starting Corner?

Cor'Dale Flott had one of the best seasons in the Giants' secondary. Did he secure himself the same starting role in 2026?

New York Giants cornerback Cordale Flott | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

The New York Giants will have 19 unrestricted free agents this offseason. Which ones will be back? Which ones won't? We'll run through the list and give our thoughts on each.

Cor'Dale Flott, CB

• Height: 6-foot-2
• Weight: 175 lbs.
• Age: 24
• NFL Exp: 4 Years
• College: LSU

Over the past few seasons, the New York Giants' defensive secondary has slowly moved on from veteran players with hefty price tags and shifted to a bunch of cheaper young pieces they’ve hoped will develop into future cornerstones of the back end of the defense. 

In most cases, the intended outcome has been hard to come by for a unit that has been heavily tormented in coverage during that span. Cornerback Cor’Dale Flott, however, was one member of the secondary who offered a different picture for the team. 

Flott was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft (No. 81 overall) and was a part of the first draft class assembled by general manager Joe Schoen after he took over the position that offseason.

In a class that was deeper than the other groups that Schoen has assembled, Flott is one of the few players who have stuck around and earned an important role on the roster by the end of his rookie contract. He has appeared in 53 games (37 starts) for Big Blue and tallied 153 total tackles (103 solo), three interceptions, three fumbles, and 25 pass deflections.

With all the veterans that the Giants had in their position room during his rookie season, Flott began in a reserve role where he saw 335 defensive snaps in 11 games (6 starts) and 26 tackles (15 solo) and forced one fumble and two pass deflections while playing out wide and in the slot. 

One of the impressive parts of his debut was his success in limiting damage in coverage, where he held opposing receivers to 178 yards (69 yards after the catch) and didn’t commit any penalties. The early success would earn him larger workloads in the following two seasons, with at least 14 games played and 17 combined starts in that span. 

By the end of the 2024 season, Flott was the second-most active player in the Giants’ secondary and had improved his NFL passer rating from 102.4 to 90.0. He kept opposing pass catchers below a 70% reception rate for the third straight time and played nearly perfect football in the endzone with just one touchdown allowed in two of his first three seasons. 

When the 2025 offseason began, the Giants moved on from several faces in their ranks, which opened up a starting spot for a perimeter cornerback to be won during training camp. Flott would compete with Deonte Banks for the job alongside veteran free agent signing Paulson Adebo and win it, leading to an impressive campaign that was a bright spot in a poor season for the secondary.

2025 Recap

New York Giants cornerback Cordale Flott (28) | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

As mentioned, the Giants created an open competition for the No. 2 perimeter cornerback role during training camp and put the opportunity in front of Cor’Dale Flott and Deonte Banks. Flott won the position battle and started the season flanking the outside of the secondary with Paulson Adebo. 

Unfortunately, the fourth-year ballhawk would not see a full campaign without injuries. His first came in Week 8 when he suffered a concussion in the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and was sidelined by the league’s concussion protocol the following Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. 

Flott would return in Week 10 and regain his spot ahead of Banks on the depth chart, but he would then suffer a second ailment, this time a knee injury, in the Giants’ Week 16 contest against the Minnesota Vikings, which would put an end to his 2025 season. 

During his 14 starts when healthy, Flott recorded 38 total tackles (27 solo) and added his third career interception, one forced fumble, and a single-season high 11 pass deflections.

As a coverage guy, Flott finished with a 69.6 PFF grade that led New York’s secondary. In 501 snaps, he allowed catches on 34 of his 65 targets for a career-best 52.3% rate, 425 yards (104 after the catch), and one touchdown that gave the opposing quarterbacks a 71.6 passer rating. 

The best performance of his resume came in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, when Flott was targeted a season-high 10 times and gave up two catches for 19 yards. He made four tackles on top of that sharpness in coverage and deflected two additional passes in his direction despite the Giants' crumbling down the stretch of a 33-32 loss. 

Flott’s length was often regarded as his best asset in creating a strong season in coverage, but he did struggle a bit in the tackling department when the Giants needed him to help slow down the run. Flott recorded his third straight missed tackle rate above 15.0% and whiffed on seven attempts.

Why the Giants Should Keep Him

Oct 9, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) intercepts the pass intended for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jahan Dotson (2) during the fourth quarter of the game at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

When Flott was available, he did more than enough to prove to the Giants that he can be a reliable coverage defender. He took advantage of a big opportunity to stamp his name into a starting job and wouldn’t have relinquished it for a few games had he not dealt with two injuries. 

Beyond his individual season, the rest of the Giants’ secondary was far from impressive, and the depth of the position group is not close to being stable enough to just let him walk out the door in free agency. A few of the players who saw reps late in the year were practice-squad elevations, not pieces expected to hang around in 2026. 

The Giants should be actively looking to bring in an upgrade or two to the secondary this offseason, but retaining Flott to ensure their two starting cornerback spots are held over would be a good start. He and Paulson Adebo combined for 15 forced incompletions this season and are the experienced players that the Giants need to handle opponents’ top pass catchers.

Why the Giants Shouldn't Keep Him

New York Giants defensive back Cordale Flott (28) speaks to the media. | John Jones-Imagn Images

The injury factor has followed Flott throughout his tenure with the Giants, and that might come into play when the organization sits down to decide which top unrestricted free agents they’re going to pursue for new contracts.

Flott has missed at least three games in each of his first four seasons, and the expectation for a starting cornerback should entail availability for most of the games when the Giants are as pressed for depth as they currently stand in the secondary. His market value is projected at $9.5 million, per Spotrac, which would put him at the No. 32 player in his position if he resigns. 

More importantly, the Giants still have to get to work on contract restructures and potential cuts within their current roster to help max out the cap space they’ll have to deploy towards any offseason transactions. 

Besides Flott, the Giants will be thinking hard about whether to prioritize their capital on other important players like receiver Wan’Dale Robinson or right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. If they are successful at bringing one or both of those guys back next season, there might not be enough left in the well to keep Flott and create a hole in his place. 

Keep or Move On??

Sep 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (80) runs against New York Giants cornerback Cordale Flott (28) in the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Given the overall strength of the defensive secondary, the Giants would be foolish not to attempt to re-sign Flott following the best season of his career in East Rutherford.

They’ve had a bunch of misses in that level of the defense, and it helps to keep one name that has bucked the trend and grown as a coverage man over time. 

That depends on whether Joe Schoen can find a way to make the financial gymnastics work in the Giants’ favor to maintain the partnership with Flott.

A better offer from another team could woo him away, and it might force the Giants to raise the need for a cornerback on their draft board in April after they use a lot of their cap resources to try to retain Wan’Dale Robinson and Jermaine Eluemunor.

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