Giants Country

Why a Giants-OBJ Reunion is a Longshot (and Other Thoughts)

Rewinding the New York Giants' week that was.
Patricia Traina|
Why a Giants-OBJ Reunion is a Longshot (and Other Thoughts)
Why a Giants-OBJ Reunion is a Longshot (and Other Thoughts)

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New York Giants

Reports of former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr being open to a reunion in New York are very much alive and well.

While I completely understand the interest, given the state of the Giants' receiving corps and the sentimental feelings that most of the fan base has for Beckham (and vice versa), I would be stunned beyond belief if a reunion were to take place this year.

Forget about the ACL issue--Beckham should be healthy by some point in November. As I see it, the biggest stumbling block right now is the money.

Beckham himself mentioned that the Los Angeles Rams, who per Over the Cap have $4,754,843 in cap space, lowballed him with an offer. If the Rams lowballed him, how does anyone expect the Giants, who have $3,612,753 in cap space, to make a better offer? 

The other factor? Beckham presumably wants to go somewhere to win a championship again. As surprisingly good as the Giants have looked so far in Year 1 of their rebuild, very few people are realistically penciling the Giants in to be among the Super Bowl participants at the end of the year.

But what about next year, when the Giants will have a healthier cap situation and perhaps be in a better position to afford Beckham, who will be further removed from his ACL woes?

Again, I think it's a long shot for the same reason: money. The Giants have several core pieces that have been trending toward second contracts through the early part of the season--left tackle Andrew Thomas, safety Xavier McKinney, running back Saquon Barkley, quarterback Daniel Jones, and defensive lineman Dexter Lawerence all come to mind.

If Barkley and Jones continue trending upward as they have, they would be priorities since both are unsigned beyond this year. The Giants might also want to see about locking up Thomas and McKinney before either has a chance to come close to sniffing free agency.

Lawrence is under contract for next year, the Giants having picked up his option year. But if things stay the same, he and Leonard Williams, who has a void year in 2024, would both be up for renewal after the 2023 season, as would No. 1 cornerback Adoree' Jackson, who also has a voidable year in 2024.

If Schoen is to be believed--and there's no reason not to at this point--the Giants' priority will be to retain their young talent first and then use free agency to supplement the gaps.

Assuming the Giants don't have to invest their first-round pick in a quarterback next year, they could look to acquire a No. 1 receiver in the draft after dumping the disappointing and overpriced Kenny Golladay. If that ends up being the case, is there a need for Beckham, who turns 30 in November and has had two ACL injuries in his career?

Probably not, no matter how strong the yearning for a reunion might be.

Here are a few other thoughts from the week that was.

Landon's New Role

Speaking of former Giants who are getting a second go-round with the team, safety Landon Collins, signed to the practice squad last week, is gearing up to be a part of Wink Martindale's defense at some point (probably not this week, though).

But Collins' role might not be what he previously played with the Giants during his first tenure. Collins was spotted during the part of practice open to the media doing some work at inside linebacker, a role many people have speculated might be a good fit for his skill set.

Collins, who earned three Pro Bowls as a safety with the Giants and who was a defensive captain during his first go-round, started to see some snaps at linebacker for the Washington Commanders, with whom he signed as a free agent after the 2018 season, in 2021.

Collins did what was asked of him but wasn't shy about expressing his feelings regarding the position switch.

So what's changed with the Giants? For one, Collins admitted that he never wanted to leave the franchise and only did so because former general manager Dave Gettleman didn't want him back.

But with things not working out in Washington as hoped, Collins will get a second chance with the Giants in Wink Martindale's "positionless' defense, a defense in which Martindale was confident they'd find a role Collins would like.

Meanwhile, Collins is humbled to have a second chance at potentially ending his career where it all started.

“It’s humbling for sure, coming from where you’re at the top bar, and you’re coming," he said. "I wouldn’t say at the bottom, but back to ground one and building your way back up.

“Coming back, most likely hopefully to retire as a Giant, it’s a dream come true. Being back here, being back in this atmosphere, being loved, and being back on this team is a great opportunity for me to be around these young guys,’’ Collins said. “They keep me young, so it’s awesome."

Oh, Those Crafty Giants Coaches!

During the Monday edition of the LockedOn Giants podcast, I wondered if perhaps the Giants, as part of their game plan against the Packers, purposely held Daniel Jones out of the running game in the first half to maybe lull the Packers into thinking that it wasn't part of the game plan and therefore not having a chance to adjust.

My hunch was spot on, as offensive coordinator Mike Kafka gave up the information.

That wasn’t--I wouldn’t say intentional," Kafka began, before adding (emphasis added), "It was part of the gameplan. I think there was just a timing of when the play call when we used it. I think it showed up there."

Intentional or not--and I still think it was planned--it worked out brilliantly because it caught the Packers napping. Jones, who ran one time in the first half for three yards, ran nine times in the second half for 34 yards, and did a little more sliding around in the pocket, both elements the Packers defense seemed to have no answers for.

The Passing Game's Unsung Heros

With the sluggish performance of the Giants receivers, I was curious to take a look at what the running backs and tight ends have combined to contribute to the passing game.

Here are some quick numbers I calculated. Regarding passing yardage, the backs and tight ends have contributed 308 of the team's 859 passing yards (35.8 percent) and have caught 36 of the 89 passes (40.4 percent). Further, the tight ends and running backs are averaging 7.2 receptions in games versus the 10.6 being averaged by the receivers.

In short, the running backs and tight ends have stepped up to help boost the passing game as best as possible. And with Wan'Dale Robinson hopefully back this week, the receivers will start to pull ahead of the running backs and tight ends.

Why Giants Have Tried to Avoid Placing Players on IR

Once again, the New York Giants are ranked in the top 5 league-wide in injuries, according to ManGamesLost.com, which estimates that the Giants have had 51 guys pass through various health protocols.

Unfortunately, that is nothing new for the Giants, who are among the league's most injured teams annually. But what's different about this year is the Giants' handling of injured players.

The players the Giants have placed on IR so far since the season started (not including those who were moved to IR once they were on the initial 53-man roster) have mostly been guys whose seasons are truly over--the ACL guys (Sterling Shepard, D.J, Davidson). Cornerback Aaron Robinson was also placed on IR with a knee injury after returning from a two-game absence following an emergency appendectomy.

But some guys have been unable to get on the field due to injury (Kadarius Toney, looking at you, kid) that the Giants have been reluctant to put on IR.

"Probably every situation is a little different," said head coach Brian Daboll. "(General manager) Joe (Schoen) and I talk about all of those different things every day. We just try to do what’s best we think for our team."

Part of the reason for the Giants' reluctance could be due to their fragile salary cap situation--its cheaper, in the long run, to carry a guy and have him inactive while replacing him on the game-day roster with a practice squad elevation than it is to sign someone off the street.

But the other reason the Giants seem reluctant to put guys on IR is because of a belief that so long as a player can do some work, that's better than nothing.

In Toney's case, he's unlikely to be running sprints or doing any cutting until his hamstrings are stable. But he can work on the side catching balls launched at him at different angles, just to keep that part of his game fresh.

And in case you're wondering, Daboll didn't sound like he and Schoen have plans to shut the receiver down soon.

"We’ll just keep on rehabbing him. I think he’s making progress. We’ll see where we’re at next week," Daboll said.

An Underrated But Key Decision

Much has been made every week- and rightfully so- about the job done by the Giants coaching staff, but how they are getting the most out of the talent, they have and making the right decisions even if some border on the side of risky.

But perhaps there is no bigger decision made by this coaching staff that has paid dividends time and again than the one made by head coach Brian Daboll sometime before the season started to entrust offensive coordinator Mike Kafka with the play calling.

Besides the fact that Kafka has done an admirable job, Daboll, in relinquishing the play-calling, has allowed himself to take a big-picture view as games unfold to where he is making key game management decisions that have thus far worked out.

In Week 1, there was the decision to go for the 2-point conversion, which ended up being the game-winner. But more recently, Daboll took another bit of a risk last week against the Packers when he took a timeout with 1:11 left in the game, the Packers driving.

His reason was simple: "If they score – get the ball back and try to go down there and score," Daboll said.

As it turned out, the Giants' defense finished the job, but this example is one of many that, when one goes back and breaks down the Giants' 2022 season, are the difference between a win and a loss.

If Daboll had taken on the play-calling duties, it's fair to wonder if he would have been in a good position to make these kinds of decisions. Oh sure, he could always lean on his staff for their input--he does as it is. But with more of a clear head in not having to worry about what to do next with the play calling, Daboll has that Giants sideline running like a well-oiled machine producing wins.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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