5 things for Friday: Combine workouts begin, more

Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are five things for you to know to begin your Football Friday.

Combine workouts begin

The portion of the NFL Combine fans are really interested in — the on-field workouts — begin Friday morning. Running backs and offensive lineman, two position groups that the Giants should be paying close attention to.

[Running back measurements | Offensive line measurements]

Chris will have a rundown of players to watch today [9 a.m. ET/NFL Network] a bit later this morning. Also, be sure to check out Chris’s piece on why the Combine drills matter.

You can find all of our continuing Combine coverage in our Combine StoryStream.

Free Agency: Brandon Marshall, Sebastian Vollmer to be available

The New York Jets will reportedly release veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall on Friday. The New England Patriots are reportedly doing the same with veteran right tackle Sebastian Vollmer.

Here is a full post on why I think the Giants should pass on Marshall.

John Mara: Giants want long-term JPP deal

Giants’ president and co-owner John Mara told Newsday this week that the organization used the franchise tag on Jason Pierre-Paul “to protect ourselves.”

“ ... we’re trying to get a (long-term) deal done,” Mara said Wednesday in his first comments since the Giants announced Pierre-Paul would be given the franchise tag. “We want to get him signed long-term, but we had to do that to protect ourselves. Hopefully, we’ll be able to reach an agreement, but I can’t say it’s imminent.”

If Pierre-Paul plays under the franchise tag it will cost the Giants $16.934 million in 2017. Mara was clear that he won’t pay that salary for JPP on an annual basis:

“It ain’t gonna be that going forward.”

Big Blue Chat podcast

Have you listened to the latest edition of the “Big Blue Chat” podcast yet? Pat Traina and yours truly break down the Combine, the JPP situation, and more.

Weekend mailbag

It’s Friday, so don’t forget that if you have a question for this weekend’s mailbag, get that in ASAP. You can e-mail bigblueview@gmail.com.