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Loading ...With Antrel Rolle making the New York Giants the first stop on his “pay me my money” tour, no one should be surprised that multiple outlets are reporting that the Giants are now front-runners to sign the top free agent safety on the market.
After all, the Giants generally only bring in players whom they plan to offer a contract, and they always aim to have that player signed before he has a chance to visit another NFL team.
Profootballtalk.com has reported that it’s down to three teams: Big Blue, Miami and Rolle’s old team, the Cardinals. NFL Network has reported that a deal with NYG is “95% done.”
UPDATE 9:45 p.m: Ralph Vacchiano from the NY Daily News is starting to get bad vibes about the lack of an announcement. He confirms that the Giants have reached out to Darren Sharper’s reps, and says that the longer this goes, the worse it feels.
“I don’t know if Rolle is still in the NJ area tonight, but I can tell you there is a lot of league buzz about the Cardinals making a last minute run at him, especially after losing out on LB Karlos Dansby”
The Giants and Dolphins had both been rumored as possible landing spaces for Karlos Dansby and Rolle. It would seem that both teams have made their priorities clear, now that Rolle’s in the Meadowlands and Dansby has made the Miami Dolphins his first visit (now signed).
With Miami apparently out of the running for Rolle, and taking us out of the running for Dansby, it’s time to look ahead at what the signing of Rolle would mean to the Giants’ roster and offseason plans.
(Remember, however, that until the deal is done, it ain’t a done deal. I wouldn’t rule out Rolle heading back to Arizona where he’s comfortable, particularly if the Giants offer doesn’t blow Arizona’s reported six-year, $38MM-ish offer out of the water. Over at the Blue Screen Ralph Vacchiano posits that “Rolle still pondering options”).
Rolle’s addition would immediately bolster a unit that fell apart last year when Kenny Phillips went on IR. Although Rolle’s presence is paramount if Phillips’ injury prevents him from returning to field or form, a healthy tandem of Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle gives the Giants arguably the best starting safety duo in the NFL.
Assuming Phillips returns (and if you ask him, he’ll tell you he’s ready to run tomorrow), Michael Johnson slides down the depth chart and becomes the 3rd safety. Most fans will expect C.C. Brown gets his walking papers as soon as the ink is dry on Rolle’s contract.
Aaron Rouse would seem to have a tenuous grip on the last spot on the depth chart, although he will have to hold off practice-squadders Vince Anderson and Shareff Rashad, not to mention fellow mid-season waiver claim D.J. Johnson.
This move would most likely remove safety from the list of Giants draft needs, although you never know. Almost no one expected them to select a DE when they took Kiwanuka in 2006.
Either way, it indicates that the Giants saw their need for safety help too immediate was to be relegated to draft day, where there’s no guarantee you get your guy or that he’s ready to contribute right away, the way Rolle would be expected to.
What is clear is that the Giants prioritized a safety over a middle linebacker with their free agency dollars. Of course, the Giants prioritized one player over another player, not a position over another position, but one has to wonder if this situation has implications on how or if the Giants will try to upgrade the MLB position.
My first though revolved around Rolando McClain. The Giants reported interest in Dansby indicated that they are interested in upgrading at MLB, and Miami’s acquisition of Dansby removes a primary roadblock from the “McClain available at 15” highway.
In actuality, the Giants big bucks free agency moves are not colored in any way by the hope that a top-ten talent MLB slips to them at fifteen in late April.
More likely, the “reported interest” in Dansby was a smoke screen aimed at disguising real interest in Rolle, and perhaps coercing Miami into prioritizing Dansby over Rolle, as Miami was also heavily linked to both players.
Although it could change if the Giants pursue McClain or Kirk Morrison (RFA from Oakland), the decision not to seriously entertain Karlos Dansby seems to imply this: the Giants are either comfortable with, or willing to settle for, Jonathon Goff as the starting MLB next year.
Of course, Rolle has and Dansby have yet to be signed, Phillips return to form is far from assured, the RFA market has yet to take shape, and the draft is still seven weeks away, so stay tuned to G101 and we’ll keep you updated with breaking news and analysis on all the offseason rumors and transactions as they happen.
the drafts actually 7 weeks away lol
Update
Now a lot of people will think that Karlos Dansby signing to Miami means that Ronaldo McClain will fall down to #15 to the Giants well not so fast. Because if Seattle really thinks about offering Brandon Marshall a contract Denver will wind up with 2 1st round picks and they need help at WR if they’re going to get rid of Marshall and they also need LB help badly so I would doubt that McClain will still be there by the time the Giants will pick.
Going after Antrel Rolle very aggressively is a smart move because at least our front office have been paying attention the safety position was our weakest last season and it needs to be addressed immediately even though he’s getting overpaid I feel it’s worth to just get him because he’s a very good ballhawking safety and if Phillips comes back healthy which signs are showing that he will which that’s a great thing the tandem of Phillips and Rolle would be deadly and Michael Johnson would move down the depth chart to #3 and Johnson is not great but he’s not bad either. Not a lot of teams would be able to throw the ball down the field against that tandem.
Next position is MLB we need a new leader on this defense and what I think the best move will be is to offer Kirk Morrison a contract because he’s definitely worth to giving up a 3rd round pick for him. If the Giants do that then they can pick up whoever they want because we would fix the S and MLB problems via free agency and they could pick the best player available when we could improve in these positions: DT, OT, RB but the guy I think the Giants would pick as their #1 target in the draft is non other than Brian Price. I know the Giants got hurt before in picking a DT in the first round (William Joseph) but this guy is the real deal I feel other than Suh this guy is the best DT in the draft and he could give Barry Cofield a big hand with Cofield is a great run stuffer we would get a very talented pass rushing tackle which this team has certainly has lacked. Think about this starting defense on the field next year:
Front 4- Kiwanuka, Price, Cofield, Tuck
LB- Sintim, Morrison, Boley
CB- Webster, Thomas
S- Phillips, Rolle
That defense would look very very scary
very good point on McClain. I talk about that in the article i have ready for when Rolle actually signs…an article that is extremely similar to this one…
I like Price but McCoy is definitely better.
I think I’m in the minority here but Morrison isn’t worth the 3rd round pick IMO. Good against the run, awful against the pass. We can get a player like that in the 3rd round or 4th round and he’d be younger and cheaper. I rather keep the pick and target a guy like Weatherspoon in the draft (not saying he can be had in the 3rd or 4th round mind you).
People keep acting like we have to fill every need in FA. We don’t and to be honest, I rather not. I rather build through the draft and grab important players (like MLBs) there than through FA. Might just be me though.
you and me both troy
norm, I love you man. You’re one of the most intelligent posters on Giants101 and certainly the best wordsmith.
But you are falling into the same trap that has waylaid Jim: you are looking at a very athletic player who made a difficult shift to safety (albeit, one made when it appeared he was not great in single-coverage at CB) and in his first year made some spectacular plays but also blew some assignments, and assuming he will just be a better-than-average safety and that given that likelihood he will be a disruption in the locker room.
I am not about to pronounce Rolle among the best safeties in the NFL, although under Fewell he could become that thanks to his great instincts for the ball, excellent hands, and gift for making the most of it when he does have the ball in his hands. Fewell wants turnovers. Rolle can get them. Will he be better than average? Certainly. Could he become one of the ten best safeties in the league? I don’t know why not. And if he’s that, then paired with Phillips they have a duo that will create havoc among passing offenses that thrive on getting the ball downfield (ie. the Eagles, Saints, Packers, and their ilk). His particular strengths fit what the Giants want to do on defense. And I’ll go further. If things break right and the Giants get back to their old pass rush, Rolle certainly DOES have the potential to be a perennial Pro Bowler with 7-8 picks a season, and I think that just as likely as his proving to be ordinary. He isn’t an ordinary athlete, and he’ll be playing under a coach who makes excellent secondaries out of more ordinary athletes. I’ll bet Fewell pushed very hard for Wilson or Rolle.
And if Rolle becomes a top safety, and creates turnovers, which create wins, no one is going to be grumbling about his salary. And guess what? The players, and their agents, who try to tell Reese that since Rolle got X they deserve X, or 2X, or 3/4 X, will be told in no uncertain terms that the market dictates that they get Y, and that’s all that is on the table. Reese isn’t going to be cowed by agents into playing that game. If the Giants are winning rings the success will paper over any money problems. If they aren’t, then the players who insist on more dollars may not be worth it in any case and can be dispensed with by making firm, final, offers.
I don’t know if this guy will be a Giants or a Cardinal, but I know the Giants must have a veteran safety, and if they don’t get Rolle the price for the next guy will be very steep as well. Atogwe and Wilson are great options, but the price is dear. And we don’t want any stopgaps. we need a player who can make a difference along with Phillips.
darnell dockett- I’d take a paycut to keep antrell rolle #21!!! I don’t know if it would help much but I will!!—> iiiii WAAAAANNNNAAA WiiiiiiiiiiNNNN!!!!
also
Artis Hicks to visit Redskins tomorrow, source tells FoxSports.com.
I’m still wondering if anyone here has seen Morrison play more than a game or two. How about a legit scouting report.
In general, I agree with Troy. I’d rather work with the draft once we’ve solved the safety issue. I don’t think Goff will hurt this defense much in 2010, so drafting Weatherspoon (probably Round 1) or Angerer or Lee (Round 2 or even 3) sounds better to me. I wouldn’t even mind if the plan is to stick with Goff for a few years until someone beats him out if he can. Give Goff one more year and I’ll bet he plays better than Antonio Pierce did after 2006. We won a ring with that bum in the middle of the defense, so it could certainly be done with Goff there, especially because he would be surrounded by better linebackers on either side than was Pierce.
Okay, I have to go out, and I won’t be around tomorrow. I hope to hear that Rolle is ours and that all JR is interested in at that point is backup QBs and maybe a depth guy at one position or another.
Guys, for the record, I also have a Giants land Antrel Rolle piece ready that basically rehashes all these points…
dnt jinx it!! haha
ff55, I can certainly understand the potential upside of signing Rolle. I mean, that’s why everyone around here is getting so all-fire geeked, isn’t it?
I guess what has me a bit torqued is the notion that this move is all upside; that the only thing at risk is the Mara’s and Tisch’s money. I was simply endeavoring to point out in my last post that there ARE risks beyond some billionaires losing a few mill. As I stated, those risks include serious locker room dissension (especially if Rolle turns out to be a bust) and potential cap consequences down the road.
The question then becomes: does the potential upside of signing Rolle at $8 MM per outweigh what I perceive to be some very real and potentially damaging risks? Clearly, the consensus here is an emphatic “Yes!!” Me, I’m not so sure – based on Rolle’s body of work thus far.
But, as I’ve said, it’s pretty much moot at this point. It looks like Rolle to the G-Men is pretty much a done deal so I guess Reese has come to the same conclusion as the majority of G101 posters. Here’s hoping he’s right.
what the hell is taking soo long???? i thought this was a done deal four hours ago. If he leaves new york, he won’t sign with the Giants. This is more annoying then Lavar’s signing!
just sign the piece of paper already antrel… jesus
Norm– I think at this point, the Giants could not afford to go into next season with the status quo at safety. Rolle was there, he’s a known quantity, and patches up a need that you don’t have to sit back and pray gets filled n the draft.
As ff55 said, it shouldn’t destroy the salary structure (too much) or limit the teams ability to spend elsewhere…so there’s no point in complaining about money out of Mara’s pocket…
Best safety duo in the NFL? Simon, my man, please don’t perpetuate this Giants homerism of KP. Listen, I love the guy, I own his jersey. But, he’s started about, what, 8 games? 4 career picks?
And coupled with another guy who some question his skills, we’re already making statements that we might have the best duo in football?
And FF55, furthering it implying that under Fewell, Rolle could be great, implying he’s a bona fide great defensive mind, even with a brand new team. In other words, Rolle is ok, but Fewell might be the difference maker.
I love you two. I love KP. I love Rolle. I really do. And I’m just as excited as everyone else, I really am. But, we’re all getting carried away here.
Dirt– Nice way of ignoring the word “arguably.” I knew this was going to get called out, but take a look around the league…very few teams have two players with such talent.
While neither of them may even be in the convo for best safety, the combination is in the convo for best combo. Not alot of teams have two better than average safeties…
But if it makes you feel better, from here on out I’ll use the phrase “one of the better”
As some constructive criticism, as a writer here, you should not take a reader’s disagreement with your position, especially one laced with phrases such as “I love you”, in such personal regard and reply as such with negative sentiment. But, I still like your tenacity.
Didn’t ignore the word arguably, that’s why I’m here to argue, partner ;)
Proof I’m not a hater and I’m truly excited myself: I made my girlfriend watch a Rolle highlight video on YouTube (the one linked earlier today).
Seriously, the length of this process is very concerning. I’m not interested in him “considering” the offer. He needs to take it or not. Perhaps Reese ought to make it known that he is willing bring in someone else! Maybe even having them in for an interview.
Kujonicus– Agreed. Look what I wrote below. But this may also just be the quiet that occurs as the contract actually gets finalized. The agents and team personnel are in the room negotiating clauses and such…so there’s no one to leak propaganda to the beat writers.
But you should take a look at Garafolo’s report earlier that said the Giants had reached out to backup plans Sharper, Atogwe and Bethea. That seemed like a pretty clear indication by the FO that they are willing to go another way.
The longer this drags on, the more I’m starting to think that the agent is on the phone with Arizona figuring out how close he can get them to the Giants offer. But if they allowed Antrel to go through a physical, then took another deal, there would be some serious hard feelings in the Giants from office…
Bottom line, something is wrong. They released him, and he’s willing to give them a second chance. I could see the dolphines if they were still active. This is BULLSHIT!
There are no hard feelings from that release. Everyone knew it would happen for a long time. Just business.
Okay fine. Arizona didn’t want to give him the money that he was due. No all the sudden they want to overspend like we are???? ” TheBlueScreen RT @ddockett: I’d take a paycut to keep antrell rolle #21!!! I don’t know if it would help much but I will!!—> iiiii WANNNNAAA WiiiiiNN!!! “
He was due like $12 million this year. Neither us, nor the Cardinals are going to give him anywhere close to that much. He knew it, they knew it, we knew it.
Now, it’s just a matter of whether Arizona can afford to pay him as much as his best offer (which, apparently is us). While it still may technically be “overspending,” the Cards paying him what he was due in 2010 would have been REALLY overspending…
TheBlueScreen: RT @ddockett: I’d take a paycut to keep antrell rolle #21!!! I don’t know if it would help much but I will!!—> iiiii WANNNNAAA WiiiiiNN!!!
lol, way to wait till the last minute, Darnell.
If he goes back to Arizona, i hope they go 0-16
troplaya55– if he does go back to Arizona, there will be some serious hard feeling between his agent and the Giants. But Rosenhaus has such a good client list that he can afford to burn bridges….
If I remember correctly, Rosenhaus has had a number of Giants as clients and it’s been reported that he and the Giants have a good relationship.
Bad news from Vacchiano guys:
They say ‘No news is good news,’ but I’m not sure that’s the case here. Usually if a guy comes to visit he signs, or he ends up signing elsewhere. I don’t know if Rolle is still in the NJ area tonight, but I can tell you there is a lot of league buzz about the Cardinals making a last minute run at him, especially after losing out on LB Karlos Dansby, who signed a 5-year, $43 million contract with the Dolphins that includes $22 million in guaranteed money. Anyway, I told you six hours ago this was a three-team race, and not to count Miami or Arizona out. That still appears to be the case. But the longer this goes, the more I have to wonder if it’s good for the Giants. … Oh, and by the way, confirming a report from earlier, the Giants have reached out to the agent for unrestricted free agent Darren Sharper as a fallback option in case they lose out on Rolle
not really bad news as much as vacchiano “thinking”. Losing Dansby has nothing to do with Rolle, they were already prepared to let Dansby walk and knew they werent gonna pay him.
So he’s just going off a gut feeling like everyone else? Doesn’t prove anything.
Thus, barring something unforeseen, Rolle will remain a Cardinal or become a Giants, probably soon. Source PFT
Wonderful… lets get a 54 year old pro bowler for a year! Sharper is still great, but that would only be a short term resolution
• newsdaygiants Source tells Newsday: Antrel Rolle has signed with the Giants.
Woo-hoo
NJ_Giants
Blast! Just heard same. RT @newsdaygiants Source tells Newsday: Antrel Rolle has signed with the Giants. #nyg
ddockett
I talk to antrell rolle and I’m happy for him and his family! He will be a giant, I wish him sucess and healt to the fullest that my dawg!
Yes! Now I can get a good night’s rest knowing we got someone.
Filed to ESPN: Giants reach agreement with S Antrel Rolle — 5 year deal for $37 million, including $15 million gtd.
from Shefter’s twitterr
Ouch, how about the next Schefter tweet…
Antrel Rolle also now the highest paid safety in NFL history.
When does Polamalu’s contract expire?
By this metric, he’ll be worth about $80 MM, $34 MM guaranteed.
Source tells Newsday: Antrel Rolle has signed with the Giants
http://twitter.com/newsdaygiants
Atrel Rolle to Giants confirmed. Story coming at PFT. (the morons at PFT can’t spell)
http://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk
%15 MM guaranteed… I can live with that.
5 years, 37 mil, making him the highest paid safety in the league.
Although he’s highly paid, the guarantees work out to about $3M per year. If you consider that some of the rest will be performance based, and if he sees close to that $37M, we would have seen some very impressive safety play.
In other words, I like the deal a lot. Certainly a no brainer with this band of bozos we saw over the last 6 months.
Update up top…update up top….
Worth it to get rid of cc brown. I would have paid $100 million if it had meant we would never have to see what we saw on defense last year ever again. Cc brown is the worst safety I have ever seen. He made Craig dahl and James butler look like probowlers.
Finally i was so sick of the anxiety this was causing me im very excited about this and im glad its a done deal.. plus as simon said the dolphins taking dansby helps our chances at mcclain =) great start to the free agency period
hey great news about antrel!
just because im petty, and i cant even remember who it was i was fighting with, but for all of you that were hating soooo hard on peppers…
suck on this, puntas:
During the NFL playoffs, Football Scientist K.C. Joyner wrote a series of “Contrarian Thoughts” pieces, debunking common assumptions. He applies the concept now to free agency.
Pete Rozelle once said that when you live in the limelight, you have to keep in mind the following rule: Character is what you are, and reputation is what people think you are.
That mind-set is especially useful when considering the Bears’ acquisition of free-agent superstar defensive end Julius Peppers. Peppers’ elite skill level is well known, but he also has a reputation as a hot-and-cold player who alternates between going all out and taking some plays off.
This idea got started after Peppers’ subpar 2007 season, when he had a career low in sacks (2.5) and his second-lowest tackle total (38). The fan reaction to this was so intense that I wrote the following in “Scientific Football 2008″:
“The Carolina pass rushing metrics were bad across the board and the one person who has taken more grief than other for this is Julius Peppers. Fans on the ESPN.com SportsNation chats have taken to slamming Peppers for his lack of effort and many media reports either imply or directly make that same assertion.
“What I don’t understand is why Peppers isn’t given a bit more leeway than this. For years, Peppers was one of the hardest working defensive linemen in the league and that didn’t change last season.
“What did change is that Peppers had an offseason illness that caused him to lose a lot of weight. That very well may have been why he lacked energy but instead of leaning on that explanation, many have jumped to the conclusion that he suddenly turned into another overpaid, lazy athlete. All I can say to this is that most of the time, hard working players don’t suddenly become lazy and it would be a surprise if Peppers joined that list.”
Peppers got healthy the following offseason, and that led to his posting 9½ one-on-one sacks in 2008. In order for a sack to be listed in the one-on-one column, a defender has to beat his blocker and get to the quarterback in the pocket in 3 seconds or less. Most defenders get there between 2.7 and 3 seconds, but Peppers had seven sacks that year that occurred under the 2.7-second mark. That is impressive enough, but two of them actually came in 2 seconds or less.
That trend continued in 2009 both in quality (as evidenced by his 2.4-second sack of Kurt Warner in Week 8) and in volume. (He was one of only 13 players to post 10 or more sacks.)
This provides ample evidence for Peppers’ athletic character — he is a consistently hard-working, physical phenom. If he gives the Bears the same kind of pass-rushing impact he gave Carolina for all but the single, illness-affected season, his reputation should soon match his effort level.
K.C. Joyner, aka the Football Scientist, is a regular contributor to ESPN Insider. His Countdown Daily by IBM weekly video matchups can be found every Tuesday here. He also can be found on Twitter (@kcjoynertfs) and at his Web site.