March 23, 2025
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
Joe Schoen and the Giants didn't get an awful free agency grade from us, but only because they couldn't even execute their dumb offseason, as planned.
Now that we're more than a few weeks into NFL free agency and the action around the league has stalled out, let's grade each of the NFC East teams' free agency periods. We've been holding off on grading the New York Giants until they finally figured out their veteran quarterback situation. Maybe they have, maybe they haven't, but for our purposes let's get them out of the way.
FREE AGENCY GRADES
• CB Paulsen Adebo: The Giants signed Adebo to a three-year deal worth $54 million. He's a good press corner, but he also broke his right femur last October, ending his season. He'll be their new CB1, alongside a couple of young corners in the promising Andru Phillips and disappointing Deonte Banks.
• S Jevon Holland: Holland signed with the Giants on a three-year deal worth $45 million. Over his four-year career in Miami, Holland had 301 tackles, 5 sacks, 25 pass breakups, 5 forced fumbles, and 5 INTs. The Giants decided to pay bigtime money to a safety a year after deciding not to pay Xavier McKinney, who was a first-team All-Pro in 2024 in Green Bay. He'll play opposite second-year safety Tyler Nubin.
• QB Jameis Winston: We'll get to Winston in the final analysis below.
• EDGE Chauncey Golston: Golston had 5.5 sacks in 2024 with the Cowboys. Three years, $19.5 million. Potentially ascending rotational guy.
• OT James Hudson: Hudson spent the first four years of his career in Cleveland, where he appeared in 49 games, with 17 starts. He'll be a depth guy, but a somewhat expensive one at 2 years, $11 million.
• EDGE Victor Dimukeje: 4 career sacks, all in 2023.
• LB Chris Board: Board is a soon-to-be 30-year-old special teams guy on his fifth team. The Giants signed him to a two-year deal worth $6 million.
• iDL Roy Robertson-Harris: Robertson-Harris turns 32 in July, and the Giants gave him a two-year deal worth $10 million. 20 tackles, 2 sacks in 2024. The Giants give decent money to a mid defensive lineman or two every offseason, and they never have any impact, even though they get to play next to Dexter Lawrence. This feels like another one of those signings.
• iDL Jeremiah Ledbetter: 30 years old, sixth team, 3.5 career sacks.
• OT Stone Forsythe: Forsythe is a 6'9 OT who played 413 snaps at RT for Seattle last season. I won't pretend to have watched Stone Forsythe tape, but he has some ugly pass protection grades from PFF.
• WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey: Lil'Jordan is actually big, at 6'4, 225. He had 31 catches for 293 yards (9.5 YPC) and a TD in 2024 with Denver.
• WR Zach Pascal: Good blocker, special teams contributor, not much of a threat as a receiver.
• LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles: Backup linebacker and special teams guy for the 49ers the last five seasons.
• WR Darius Slayton: Malik Nabers is the Giants' best receiver, but for the half decade preceding him, Slayton was the best Giants receiver, by far. He was widely expected to sign elsewhere, but surprisingly landed back with the Giants on a three-year deal worth $36 million. If Slayton had signed that contract elsewhere I don't think it would be viewed negatively, but when the Giants signed him back for the same money that they wouldn't pay Saquon Barkley they have rightfully gotten lambasted for it.
• RG Greg Van Roten: Van Roten is 35 years old. He started all 17 games for the Giants in 2024, mostly at RG, but also at C. He was reasonably competent for the Giants in 2024, but it was expected that they would go younger at that spot. But nope, he's back.
• QB Tommy DeVito: DeVito was literally the only quarterback on the Giants' roster until they finally signed Winston. DeVito was 0-2 in 2024, 3-3 in 2023. The three games he won in 2023 cost the Giants the chance to draft Patriots QB Drake Maye.
• OL Aaron Stinnie: Career backup, started three games for the Giants in 2024.
• TE Chris Manhertz: Manhertz is entering his 10th season. 29 career catches (3.2 per season).
• WR/RS Ihmir Smith-Marsette: Smith-Marsette had no receptions for the Giants in 2024, but he housed a 100-yard kick return.
• P Jamie Gillan: Gillan has been the Giants' punter since 2022.
• LS Casey Kreiter: Kreiter has been the Giants' long snapper since 2020.
• S Jason Pinnock: With Holland in, Pinnock is out. Pinnock had 85 tackles, 3 sacks, 0 INTs for the Giants in 2024. He signed with the 49ers.
• EDGE Azeez Ojulari: Ojulari had a frustrating four years with the Giants. He had a promising rookie season when he had 8 sacks, followed by a 2022 season in which he only played in 7 games, but had 5.5 sacks. He had a disappointing 2023 season, when he only played in 11 games and had just 2.5 sacks, perhaps spurring Schoen to trade for Brian Burns. In 2024, Ojulari was behind Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the depth chart, but had 5 sacks in a 3-game span while Thibodeaux was out of the lineup with an injury.
He was a disruptive pass rusher when healthy, but he was rarely ever to stay on the field for sustained periods of time.
According to a report from Jordan Raanan of ESPN, the Giants could have traded Ojulari when they were 2-7 and four games out of the Wild Card at the trade deadline last season, but instead they lost him for nothing in free agency.
• CB Adoree’ Jackson: Jackson was a Titans first-round pick (18th overall) in 2017. He played his first four seasons in the NFL with the Titans, and his last four with the Giants. Over his eight-year career, Jackson has appeared in 97 games, with 82 starts. He has just 4 career INTs. Jackson signed with the Eagles.
• EDGE Patrick Johnson: 4 tackles with the Giants in 2024. He also signed with the Eagles.
| Players gained | Players retained | Players lost |
| CB Paulsen Adebo | WR Darius Slayton | S Jason Pinnock |
| S Jevon Holland | RG Greg Van Roten | EDGE Azeez Ojulari |
| QB Jameis Winston | QB Tommy DeVito | CB Adoree Jackson |
| EDGE Chauncey Golston | OL Aaron Stinnie | EDGE Patrick Johnson |
| OT James Hudson | TE Chris Manhertz | |
| EDGE Victor Dimukeje | WR/RS Ihmir Smith-Marsette | |
| LB Chris Board | P Jamie Gillan | |
| iDL Roy Robertson-Harris | LS Casey Kreiter | |
| iDL Jeremiah Ledbetter | ||
| OT Stone Forsythe | ||
| WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey | ||
| WR Zach Pascal | ||
| LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles |
John Mara made the asinine decision to run it back with GM Joe Schoen and HC Brian Daboll after a 6-11 season in 2023 and an embarrassment of a 3-14 season in 2024, complete with football fans getting to see the Giants' in-house blunders via Hard Knocks' first-ever offseason edition. With Schoen and Daboll firmly on the hot seat and conducting the offseason in the interest of job preservation, the Giants tried to make moves designed to make the team better in the short-term instead of the long-term.
They started by going after Matthew Stafford, who took substantially less money to stay in L.A. with the Rams than come to New Jersey. They then moved on to Plan B, which sadly, was a 41-year-old washed, insufferable Aaron Rodgers, who very clearly has several teams higher on his wish list than the Giants.
It's unclear if the Giants had a Plan C, D, E, or F higher on their list than Jameis Winston, who signed with the team on a two-year deal worth $8 million. But if that's the veteran quarterback they settle on, it's actually probably the best outcome for them. Yes, Winston stinks, but who cares? The Giants aren't going anywhere in 2025, and he's cheap and fun. He would at least bring some entertainment value to what is very likely going to be another losing season. They would also of course almost certainly draft a quarterback with a premium pick, whether that's at No. 3 overall or a trade up.
In a way, because the Giants are so unappealing to players around the league, it forced them into not wasting a lot of financial resources on a quarterback who isn't going to further their long-term interests.
Disclaimer: If the Giants subsequently sign Rodgers or Russell Wilson or something to some idiotic contract, we will update our grade.
Grade: C+
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