A little birdie has been telling me for a while that there was a good chance backup quarterback David Carr would not be a New York Giant next season.
Looks like maybe the little birdie had good intel.
Ralph Vacchiano has a look at the rather unattractive list of options to replace Carr if he leaves. My money is on Mark Brunell, who was Tom Coughlin's quarterback in Jacksonville and will have no issue with a pure backup role.
- Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News and Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger both have free agency previews this morning. Both are saying the same thing -- do not expect the Giants to throw money around like the Mara family suddenly morphed into the Steinbrenners.
- SI.com's Don Banks has some predictions for where the big-name free agents will end up. If you are on the Karlos Dansby bandwagon you will love what Banks said.
Where he [Dansby] will sign: New York Giants -- With six years of NFL service under his belt, Dansby is one of the few big-name free agents who is perfectly situated for this year's unrestricted class. In New York he would be the centerpiece upgrade of a defense that is now led by new coordinator Perry Fewell, and would walk into the middle linebacker role vacated by Antonio Pierce's departure. Miami has need for an inside linebacker as well, and the lure of playing in a Bill Parcells-style defense could be strong. Expect Washington to be in the bidding, too, especially if the Redskins don't land Peppers.
Where he should sign: New York Giants -- As they move into their new Meadowlands stadium, the G-Men should be poised for a big bounce back on defense next season, with safety Kenny Phillips healthy and Fewell getting more out of that underachieving defensive line. Dansby would be a big part of the improvement and there's nothing like success in the NFL's largest media market to really kick-start the second half of one's career. - According to Vacchiano, the Giants seriously considered releasing a trio of veteran linemen but won't. At least not yet.
Time may be catching up to Kareem McKenzie, Rich Seubert and Rocky Bernard, but the dreaded "Turk" hasn’t caught up with them yet.
It appears that none of those players - - despite their age, expense, or recent injuries - - will be cut by the Giants before the free-agent market opens at 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Though all three appeared perched on the bubble, two sources familiar with the Giants’ plans said it’s "very unlikely" any of them will be released any time soon. - Mention Taylor Mays around these parts, and you are guaranteed to get what I will call a "mixed" reaction. Some love him, some hate him as a prospective safety for our Giants. Your reaction to SB Nation's summary of Mays Scouting Combine performance will depend on which side of the argument you are on. I pass it on because it clearly summarizes the dilemma that is Mays.
At the NFL combine, Mays reminded us once again that he must be some sort of extraterrestrial sent to our planet to make Todd McShay's life complete. Mays was unofficially clocked at 4.24 seconds in first 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, which, if the time holds, would tie Chris Johnson's record of a few years ago.
Of course, for all of his big hits and eye-popping workout numbers, Mays isn't exactly good at football. Poor angles, bad coverage and dropped interceptions are a staple of his game, as he demonstrated at the Senior Bowl. He's just a faster liability.
Say hello to your next Oakland Raider.
UPDATE: His official 40 time came in at 4.43. His alien status remains intact, however.