New York Giants news, 5/19: JPP deal bone-headed? More news

Good morning, New York Giants fans! Let’s get your day started with a check of the headlines.

Paying big money for JPP a “bone-headed” move?

Chris Simms of Bleacher Report included the Giants giving Jason Pierre-Paul a four-year, $62 million contract ($40 million guaranteed) as one of the most bone-headed moves of the offseason.

Simms wrote that “The Giants are paying Pierre-Paul like he's one of the 10 best defenders in the game, and he isn't.”

Simms continued with this:

“Simply put, the money the Giants have given Pierre-Paul doesn't match his play. He hasn't been the same guy to me since first suffering a lower-back injury.

“What makes this move look even more boneheaded is it may have prevented New York from re-signing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who is a better lineman for my money.”

Valentine’s View: I can’t agree with Simms here. In fact, I think it’s bone-headed on his part to put the JPP contract on his list. Did they overpay? Yes, but not by an exorbitant amount. They key in the deal is that the Giants got Pierre-Paul to sign a four-year deal — they didn’t have to go to five years like the deal they gave the younger Olivier Vernon. Look at the deal and the Giants could actually get out of it after three years if Pierre-Paul regresses, since the cap savings from cutting JPP int he fourth year would be $12.5 million. So, sure, I believe the Giants overpaid Pierre-Paul a bit but I can’t kill the contract they gave him.

As for Simms’ assertion that Johnathan Hankins is a “better lineman for my money” that Pierre-Paul, I quite honestly think all that statement does is disqualify Simms from ever being considered to work in an NFL front office. My view from the beginning was that if the Giants had to choose between Pierre-Paul and Hankins signing Pierre-Paul was more important. He is the better, more difficult to replace, player.

More Headlines

Why did running back LeGarrette Blount choose the Philadelphia Eagles over the Giants and other teams? Well, most likely it was money since ESPN is reporting that the Giants offered him only the veteran minimum.

Blount, though, says it’s about winning and fitting in.

"I chose the Eagles," Blount said Thursday afternoon at the NovaCare Complex. "For a specific reason of ... Me fitting in really good here. The chance of making the team. Having a championship run. Having a better season. They're a really good team. They were a really good team before I came here.

"They have a lot of really special players on their team, they make a lot of good plays. I just want to fit in somewhere."

ESPN has ranked the Giants No. 8 in its post-draft quarterback confidence rankings.

Speaking of durable 2004 draft picks whose backups don't matter ... Eli Manning hasn't missed a game since he became the Giants' starter midway through his rookie season. His production dipped in 2016, but some in the Giants' building believe a lack of non-Odell Beckham weapons and poor pass protection had more to do with that than anything else. Manning did just turn 36, though, and the team is thinking about the future.

One member of the coaching staff said third-round pick Davis Webb "has a ways to go to be the No. 2," which means that the Giants likely will carry three quarterbacks and either Josh Johnson or Geno Smith sticks as the backup. Again, though, Manning's backup exists to run the scout team.

Former Giant defensive end Robert Ayers has become a respected leader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I’m not afraid to say anything to anybody, no matter the stature is or what their level of accomplishments are, or even a coach. I’m not afraid for you not to like me. I don’t really care about being liked. I don’t really care about opinions of me. I just want to win. So I think we kind of challenged each other and pushed each other to change things around here. I don’t think guys weren’t tough; I think we just weren’t used to winning those big games. We weren’t used to being at that center of attention. I think we just needed to challenge each other to step up when those situations come. We’re on prime time, we need to be able to ball out. That’s just me. Hopefully that answers your question.” ...

“I don’t really look at it as me being a leader,” Ayers said. “I personally view myself as a guy that – I go hard and my goals are just high. I don’t believe in settling. The idea of another man being better than me at anything has always been something that I hate. The idea of another team thinking that they’re better than us is just something that I hate. I really hate to lose. So enough was enough. I wouldn’t give myself any credit for our turnaround. I don’t know, we just got it turned around, I guess. I just want to win, man, and that’s all it was about.”