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New York Giants' cornerback Terrell Thomas made some news over the past day or so with his comments about Michael Sam. Probably more important to Giants' fans, however, is what Thomas told ESPN's Dan Graziano about his impending free agency. Thomas told Graziano that he expects to hit the open market.
"I know my agent will talk to them [Giants], and if they come back with something that's extremely favorable, I'd sign it," Thomas said. "But more than likely, I'm going to hit the market. I feel I owe it to myself, and I think the Giants understand that and would agree."
Thomas is an interesting free-agent case for the Giants. After missing two seasons due to torn ACLs, and having three torn ACLs in all, Thomas played a full season in 2013. Used primarily as a slot corner the 29-year-old Thomas played fairly well.
The question is how will teams -- the Giants included -- value Thomas? He is still a useful player, although not the dynamic one he might have been before missing those two seasons. He is also a major risk due to the three knee surgeries. It is difficult to see anyone being willing to spend a large amount of money on Thomas, especially with large class of free-agent corners available.
Finley expects to be cleared
Tight end Jermichael Finley, often connected to the Giants, expects to be fully healed from his spinal fusion within the next two months.
Here is some of what Finley's agent, Blake Baratz, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
“He wants to play because this is his livelihood and what he has worked so hard for his entire life,” he said. “He’s only 26 years old and isn't ready for the next chapter of his life yet. If that decision is forced upon him, then he understands. We adjust and we move forward. He’s working out and rehabbing almost six hours per day with a group of experts to ensure that he stays in the best shape possible.”
The healing process — the time it takes for the bones to fully fuse together — varies.
“In some players, it takes four weeks while in others in can six months or longer,” Baratz said. “In Jermichael's case because of how he has developed and (how) his initial X-Ray looked, Dr. Maroon believes sometime in the next 4-8 weeks his should fully heal.”