Giants news, 1/16: Nick Foles a free agent? What would that mean for Giants?

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Let’s talk about Nick Foles.

The Philadelphia Eagles have made it clear that Carson Wentz is their quarterback, meaning Nick Foles will be looking for a new team in 2019 if he wants to be a starter. Which he clearly does:

“The starter thing, leading a team, impacting a locker room, that’s why we play the game,” Foles told Eagles reporters Monday, signifying he wants his own team to lead. “Everything is open. I love this city. I love this locker room. It’s special. We’ll see.”

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford writes that leading his own team is an opportunity Foles deserves.

What people fail to understand fully about Foles — maybe because of his placid demeanor — is that he desperately wants to play and, turning 30 on Sunday, will go where there is a guarantee of that. It isn’t Philadelphia.

Players don’t reach the NFL without being alpha dogs, without being supremely competitive, and that goes for Nick Foles, too. When it was clear he wouldn’t be the starter at Michigan State (stuck behind Kirk Cousins), he transferred to Arizona. He wanted to play, not merely be a good teammate standing by in the event of emergency. That dynamic hasn’t really changed, even if fans don’t get it. The Eagles are still Carson Wentz’s team, for better or worse. Foles has to find his own.

CBS Sports cap analyst Joel Corry broke down how Foles’ current contract complicates his exit from Philly.

In the end, though, Corry predicts that Foles buys his freedom from the Eagles and ends up with a contract somewhere between the Case Keenum range (two years, $36 million with the Denver Broncos) and Alex Smith range (four years, $94 million, $71 million guaranteed with the Washington Redskins).

Valentine’s View: My guess? I think Foles probably gets a deal on the higher end of that. Will it come from the Giants? I have always figured that the Eagles would find a way to trade Foles and get draft picks in return. If, as Corry predicts, he hits the free agent market that changes the equation for the Giants if they want an experienced replacement for Eli Manning.

Best and worst 2018 NFL free-agent signings | ESPN (Graziano)

ESPN’s Dan Graziano has listed the Giants signing of left tackle Nate Solder to a four-year, $62 million contract ($34.8 million guaranteed) as being among the five worst free-agent signings of 2018.

The odd part of Graziano’s putitng Solder on that list is that not a single word of his explanation is critical of Solder’s play which, as I have written many times, turned out to be pretty much on par with exactly what he did throughout his career with the New England Patriots.

I will continue to say, and believe, this. Knowing that they desperately needed to upgrade their offensive line, and that part of that had to be removing Ereck Flowers from the left tackle spot, the did what they had to do. Yes, they overpaid for Solder — at the time making him the highest-paid tackle in the NFL.

That, however, is the price of free agency. And the place the Giants found themselves in. I wish they hadn’t had to spend A+ money on a B or B+ player, but I just can’t blame GM Dave Gettleman for making that move.

NFL coaches get fired by the handful, but for the league's GMs, results don't seem to matter - CBSSports.com

This is an interesting, and I believe accurate, portrayal. At the risk of re-litigating old news, I believe the Giants are a perfect example of this as they kept former GM Jerry Reese in place long after it became obvious that his talent evaluation was becoming a big part of the problem.