Veteran looking for bounce-back season
New York Giants’ inside linebacker Bobby Okereke is established as a good NFL player. Entering his age 29 season, Okereke will almost certainly be a starting linebacker for several seasons to come.
The question is whether or not that will be with the Giants.
Okereke had the best season of his career in 2023 after the Giants signed the Indianapolis Colts’ 2019 third-round pick to a four-year, $40 million free agent contract. He had 149 tackles and career highs in sacks (2.5), passes defenses (10), forced fumbles (4), tackles for loss (11) and quarterback hits (6).
Okereke was also outspoken in his support of then-defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
With Shane Bowen, far different than Martindale schematically, taking over the defense in 2024 Okereke was not nearly as impactful. He also missed the final five games of the season due to a herniated disc in his back.
Okereke was still good, but his production dropped from 8.76 tackles per game to 7.75, 3.3 STOPs per game to 2.9, .65 tackles loss per game to .5, and his missed tackle rate jumped from 7.7% to 10.7%.
Okereke admitted during the season that Bowen’s scheme was an adjustment for him.
There was a report in March that Okereke might not have full support from within the organization.
Pat Leonard of the Daily News wrote:
There have been rumblings this offseason, from January through the NFL Combine, that some members of the Giants’ brass do not have a high opinion of linebacker and captain Bobby Okereke’s value to the roster entering the 2025 NFL season.
The Giants would seem extremely unlikely at this point to move on from Okereke before the upcoming season. He is still the defensive signal-caller, and the Giants would take on $8.643 million in dead money while saving just $6 million against the cap by cutting him.
In 2026, though, Okereke has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract. The Giants could save $9 million and take just $5.463 million in dead money should they move on.
Okereke said after Wednesday’s OTA that he is healthy and excited about the upcoming season.
“Year two in the same system. I don’t think I’ve had that since my second year in the league, so I’m excited,” Okereke said. “I’ve been studying a lot this off season, feel like I’m on a good mental page with Shane [Bowen] of how he wants to call the plays and everybody’s communication out there. So, it is fun. Less thinking, more playing.”
Okereke believes that improved health and understanding of the defensive scheme will help him look more like the 2023 version of himself this season.
“That’s the type of player I am. That’s the type of player they brought me in here,” Okereke said. “To be a guy who’s filling up, like you said, the stat sheet force, fumbles, PBU’s, fumble, recoveries, picks, all that. I’m just excited to kind of immerse myself in this defense, immerse myself with the players here so I can go out there and play free.”
If he doesn’t play that way, Okereke might be free to find a new employer in 2026.
