Bob Colot asks: What Giant players are likely to be cut for salary cap reasons?
Ed says: Bob, if players were going to be cut for pure salary cap reasons it would have been long before now. Teams usually do that so they can have more financial freedom when free agency starts, or make players June 1 cuts so they have money to sign their rookie class. All of that is past at this point.
The players who could have cap casualties are placekicker Graham Gano ($4.415 post-June 1 cap savings) and defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches ($3.6 million post-June 1 cap savings).
While cap savings might play a role in cuts made during training camp, performance and putting together the best possible roster will be the primary consideration. If the Giants need cap space, they can re-structure the contracts of a couple of veteran players.
Doug Mollin asks: Not sure any team’s OL is ever “fixed” but it does feel that the 2025 OL has better players 1 through 9 than we’ve had in awhile.
The OL is often more than just the sum of the parts. If Thomas is healthy and the other four are OK, that could add up to surprisingly solid overall OL play.
Even with that, it feels like we might need 4 upgrades next year — both guards, center and RT.
Drink some Kool-Aid and let me know you are confident in the OL for this season and that some of the answers for 2026 might already be on the roster (beyond Thomas): JMS, Kubas, Neal, Mbow and even Elu returning on a new short-term deal.
Ed says: Doug, I grew up drinking Kool-Aid, probably like a great many of us who have reached a certain age. There was almost always a full pitcher of Kool-Aid in my mom’s fridge when I was a kid. It has, though, been decades since I touched the stuff.
You are 100% correct that no one should ever declare an offensive line “fixed.” Dave Gettleman, wherever you are, I’m looking at you, kid.
Am I “confident” in the 2025 offensive line? These are the Giants, and the history of the last 10 or 12 years tells us we probably should avoid using “confident” and “offensive line” in the same sentence. Though I kinda just did. Twice. A “Wet Willie” for me.
That said, I will feel pretty good about the 2025 offensive line if Andrew Thomas is on the field practicing and moving well when we get to training camp. All indications have been that Thomas not practicing during the spring was precautionary and not related to any setback following his Lisfranc surgery.
Before Thomas went down last year, the Giants were middle of the pack if offensive line rankings. If everyone is healthy, they have the same players, so I don’t see why the line shouldn’t be at least decent. Especially since Jon Runyan Jr. won’t be playing with just one arm. Maybe Evan Neal will push Greg Van Roten out of the starting lineup. Maybe John Michael Schmitz will continue improving in Year 3 after his play did show progress in Year 2.
The depth should be better with the drafting of Marcus Mbow, the signing of James Hudson and a year of experience for Jake Kubas. If Neal pushes Van Roten to a backup role, that would be a nice luxury.
As for next year, that is hard to predict. Schmitz and Mbow will be on rookie deals. Kubas, if he sticks, will be in the final year of his undrafted free agent deal. We will see what happens with Neal and Eluemunor. I know offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo is a big Eluemunor fan — they have been together most, if not all, of Eluemunor’s career. I would think the Giants would like him to stay.
I don’t know exactly what the line will look like in 2026, but the cupboard isn’t bare when you start thinking about the pieces the Giants could have.
Patrick Calvert asks: I really enjoyed watching your chat with Doug Mollin — especially hearing some of your perspective on the growth of BBV. I’m also selfishly grateful that your wife has pressured you to delay retirement!
You asked Doug about a crazy memory from his many years of fandom. I’m going to turn the question back to you: what is the craziest memory you have from running BBV (and the zoo that is the comment section)?
Was it JPP and fireworks? The aftermath of SB XLII? OBJ getting traded?
Having been a near-daily visitor since you started the site, I’m sure I was in the thick of it!
Ed says: Patrick, it is interesting to me that when I think about this no single thing sticks out. The staying power of the interest in Odell Beckham Jr., which continues in some corners to this day even though Beckham is a shell of the great player he once was, always amazes me.
Having the Giants win a Super Bowl to cap BBV’s first year of existence was pretty great. The show I just did with Doug qualifies as a favorite.
The zoo that can be the comment section, and the times that it gets truly unpleasant in there, is actually one thing I will not miss when the times comes for me to retire. I always wanted, and still want, Big Blue View to be the place Giants’ fans turn to for both intelligent analysis by its writers and intelligent commentary by its readers.
One of my most fun memories came from Brian Daboll’s first rookie camp as head coach. When media is on the sidelines for practice coaches generally insist that we stay behind the ball. That is for our protection, partly, but mostly for the players. No coach wants a player to get hurt crashing into a media member.
In Daboll’s first camp, as the Giants were starting a team period (I don’t recall if its was 7-on-7 or 11-on-11), Giants’ PR herded us 15-20 yards behind the ball. Daboll noticed, came by, and told us that we could all move up the sideline in front of the ball for a better vantage point. Dummy that I am, I said “But PR just told us to stay here.”
Daboll was amused, said he was overruling, and let us move.
The next day, as the team period was about to begin, Daboll appeared by the sideline. “Hey, Ed,” he said. “Is it OK with you if I let media move up front?”
That got a laugh out of everybody, and I have never forgotten.
There are a lot of memories. Maybe someday I will write a book, before I get really old and forget them all.
Anthony Viola asks: Listening to the “Doug Mollin podcast” motivated me to ask a question.
As a serious journalist, sometimes you have to be less than flattering about Giant players. Do those players give you some pushback or any kind of “hard time” when you speak to them subsequently to being critical of them?
I would imagine that you have to “walk the fine line” of being objective in a cautious manner.
Ed says: Anthony, to be credible anyone covering a team must be willing to be critical of players, coaches, front office members, and ownership when it is called for. Thing is, again going back to credibility, you have to be sure about what you are saying and you have to be able to criticize without getting personal. Criticizing a decision and giving your reasons for being critical is one thing. Criticizing a decision and calling a GM, coach or player a moron or an idiot or saying he is stupid is way over the line.
You also have to able to praise without pandering or waving your pom pons.
I have never had a real run-in with a player. I have had a couple correct me. I once criticized former Giants’ fullback Henry Hynoski for badly missing a block on a play. He pulled me aside and said I was dead wrong because I had no idea how the play was supposed to be blocked. I was once critical of a safety during practice (I don’t remember who) and when it got back to him he told me I had no idea what I was talking about.
I learned from those things not to try to be something I am not, and criticize things beyond my expertise.
Players know, at least I hope they know, that I will treat them fairly. I will give them a “Wet Willie” when I think it’s deserved. Sometimes, a hard question needs to be asked that we know a player or coach doesn’t want to answer. There are media members who will ask that same question six different ways trying to get an answer that clearly isn’t coming, or just because they are trying to get the player or coach to trip up and say something he doesn’t want to say. I learned as a young reporter that doing that is counter-productive in the end because of the good will that you can lose.
I always appreciate players who are willing to face the fire. I know that Evan Neal ran afoul of fans a couple of years ago, but he earned my respect as a rookie. When he had that atrocious game in Week 3 he sat on a stool in front of his locker and answered question after question from waves of media members. The accountability goes a long way. Ereck Flowers, on the other hand, only spoke to media when forced to by PR. When he played poorly, he bailed and left his teammates to try and speak for him.
Elijah T. asks: Would you kindly provide context as to why Wan’Dale Robinson is always seemingly getting shaded on?
He seems to be very similar to the 2 guys the Patriots had during their dynasty days (Welker and Edelman, I believe?).
Cagey and elusive and gathering a lot of catches/catch and run short yardage passes.
He gives off some Ahmad Bradshaw vibes with his tenacity.
Ed says: Elijah, I don’t know that I agree with the idea that Robinson gets “shaded on”. I think there are flaws in his game, or maybe more accurately holes in his production, that have rightly been discussed.
I like Robinson. I will be up front in saying he is one of my favorite Giants’ players to talk to. He plays hard. He’s tough, and I won’t argue with the occasional Bradshaw vibes. He is reliable, although he did have a career-worst 4.3% drop rate in 2024.
Robinson caught 93 passes last season, 13th in the NFL. That’s fantastic, and receptions equal value. The question becomes the type of receptions, what he does with the ball once he catches it, and whether or not with his physical profile there is more upside.
He is 5-foot-8, 185 pounds with 27⅝-inch arms. That’s zero percentile, which means virtually every receiver ever measured at the NFL Combine since it began in the 1980s has had longer arms. He is a tiny target for a quarterback, and you basically have to put the ball right on him for it to be caught. It is difficult to throw the ball to him down the field successfully because it has to be perfectly placed, and he is going to have a hard time winning a 50-50 ball.
Robinson has averaged just 8.2 yards per reception in his three seasons, with that number peaking at 9.9 yards when he was a rookie and going down the past two seasons. It was just 7.5 yards per catch last year.
Robinson’s Average Depth of Target (how far past the line of scrimmage he was when thrown the ball) was a puny 3.8 yards last season. His yards after catch or his career is just 4.4 yards, and was only 3.9 yards last season.
I used to call former Giant Steve Smith a “catch and fall down guy.” Smith, though, averaged 10.8 yards per reception and 7.1 yards per target in his career.
Since the Giants surprisingly drafted Robinson in Round 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft, there has always been a belief that there is more “wiggle” in his game than he has shown, that he can be more of a catch-and-run guy.
The Giants, though, have often relied on throwing him passes where he was stopped or turned around facing the quarterback. Is that because that is how they believe he is used best, or because they have not felt they had a quarterback who could hit that small target on the move?
Perhaps this year we find out if there is more to Robinson’s game than what we have seen thus far.
Bob Donnelly asks: There’s been some talk about a Giant’s reunion with Odell. At a vet minimum salary would you be in favor of his return?
Ed says: No, Bob, I am not in favor of a reunion with Odell Beckham Jr. I don’t care what he thinks. Or, what Malik Nabers thinks.
Beckham back to the Giants is bad, horrible, awful idea. Some people still have a romantic notion that he’s one-handed catch, 100+ reception Odell Beckham. He’s not. He’s odell beckham who is 32, has not really been an impact player since 2019 and is begging and pleading for someone, anyone to sign him so he can continue his career. He’s a big name and a big personality who can make, at best, a small contribution. He had nine receptions in nine games last year, averaging 6.1 yards per catch. That’s not a player who adds to an offense.
Sign Beckham and you probably take snaps away from both Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson. If Beckham stays healthy enough to make it to the starting line. Why would you want to do that? The juice is not worth the squeeze. Not close.
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