Branden Albert joins suddenly-growing left tackle market

[UPDATE 5:23 p.m. ET]

Sounds like Miami will try to trade Albert before they release him.

Here we go again. In less than 24 hours the free agent left tackle market has gone from barren to, if not teeming with talent, at least more intriguing. Let’s talk about whether or not Branden Albert, cut loose Thursday by the Miami Dolphins to make way for Laremy Tunsil, is a fit for the New York Giants.

Whether or not you want the 32-year-old Albert to join Big Blue, the presence of Albert, Ryan Clady [full story] and Kelvin Beachum [full story] on the market is good news for teams like the Giants who are expected to be in the market for tackle help. The more veteran players on the market the more options teams have and the more likely the price for at least a couple of players becomes more affordable.

Albert is a nine-year veteran who spent the last three years with Miami after six seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. The 2016 season was the worst of his career as he ranked 65th among qualifying tackles graded by Pro Football Focus, below Ereck Flowers and just two spots ahead of Bobby Hart.

PFF’s Sam Monson issued a series of tweets (and yes I saw them in the comments of the Beachum story) that are not very kind to Albert.

Albert has only played a full season once in his career, back in 2011 with the Chiefs. He has missed 22 games over the past five years. He earned a career-best PFF grade of 87.9 in 2015, but dropped to 77.0 in 2016 and plummeted to 42.2 last season. So, clearly there is regression.

Still, we have had full discussions of Clady and Beachum. So, let’s have one about Albert.

Your thoughts, Giants fans?