Giants news, 3/15: What’s next? Also, more questions about where they are going

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

A day after officially sending Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon to the Cleveland Browns, the Giants got moving on reconstructing their roster. They officially announced the signing of safety Antoine Bethea [full story], then added wide receiver Golden Tate [full story] and edge defender Markus Golden [full story].

In smaller moves, they brought back reserve cornerbacks Antonio Hamilton and Tony Lippett. B.W. Webb is apparently joining the Cincinnati Bengals. See our Giants roster tracker for all the moves.

What’s next?

That could be completing their offensive line. Right tackle Mike Remmers reportedly began a visit with the Giants on Thursday night. He knows the Giants brass well, having played for GM Dave Gettleman and offensive coordinator Mike Shula in Carolina, and head coach Pat Shurmur in Minnesota. If all goes well, Remmers could sign on Friday.

Eli’s roster bonus

Will they or won’t they? Eli Manning is due a $5 million roster bonus if he is still on the Giants’ roster as of 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. It appears almost certain that the 38-year-old Manning is going to get that bonus, which means he would be back for a 16th season.

“He’s what we have at this point,” one Giants source told ESPN.

More headlines

New Giant wide receiver Golden Tate celebrated Thursday by getting his Rod Tidwell on.

Phil Simms weighs in on Giants' trade of Odell Beckham Jr., outlook for 2019 | Newsday

Simms admits to being, like many others, “confused” by what the Giants are doing after trading Beckham:

Simms believes Eli Manning will remain the quarterback in 2019 and that the team won’t necessarily take a quarterback early in the draft. The Giants have the sixth overall pick, as well as No. 17 acquired from Cleveland in the Beckham trade.

“I don’t think the Giants are looking at this as a total rebuild,” Simms said. “I think it’s, ‘Here we go, let’s get it done.’ Will the Giants take a QB in the first round? I don’t think they will. I think they’ll wait to get one in the second round. If you’re not sold big time on Kyler Murray [of Oklahoma] or Dwayne Haskins [of Ohio State] … I think there are capable quarterbacks in the second round. Once you take [a quarterback] at No. 6, it’s [fans saying] ‘Come on, we want the new guy [to play].’ You create confusion and you upset what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Landon Collins has Giants revenge on his mind: ‘Gonna be awesome’ | New York Post’

The Washington Redskins safety is looking forward to facing his former team twice a year:

“It’s gonna be awesome, I ain’t gonna lie to you. It’s gonna be definitely awesome,” Collins said. “And then I get to prove a point why they should’ve at least tagged me.

“At the end of the day, it all worked out for the best. They got more picks, they get more opportunity to make their team the way they want to make it. And I got the opportunity to sign a big contract, to be on a team that I’ve dreamed of always being on and get to play in this burgundy and gold.”

Barnwell's 2019 NFL free-agency and trade grades - Tracking every big signing and move

Tate is a strange fit for a team in the middle of a rebuild, even if the Giants want to pretend otherwise. He's a tough receiver and a willing blocker, but his best spot in the lineup is in the slot, where he caught 150 passes from 2015-17. That was the sixth-highest total in the NFL over that time frame. The Giants already have a slot receiver in Sterling Shepard, who is far cheaper than Tate; the Oklahoma product has 149 receptions in the slot over his first three seasons in the league, which is third in the NFL. We already saw what happened last season in Philadelphia when the Eagles traded for Tate and were stuck trying to fit Tate, Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews, and Zach Ertz in the slot for targets. Tate got lost in the shuffle.

Giants claim to have a plan after Odell Beckham trade, but hard to figure out exactly what it is | CBSSports.com

Here is a vote against whatever the Giants are doing:

Are they rebuilding? Are they reloading? They're in limbo, floating in NFL purgatory, and they got there on their own accord and by their own decision-making. Eli Manning is the quarterback of the past, but he's also the quarterback of the present and, apparently, the quarterback of the future. A Giants source told Dan Graziano of ESPN the Giants would be picking up Eli's $5 million roster bonus option on Friday and rolling with the 38-year-old because "he's what we have at this point."

Hope is not a viable strategy. But the Giants are hoping Eli can summon ... what exactly? His playoff form from the team's two Super Bowl runs over the course of 16 full games at an extremely advanced age after trading his best wide receiver to Cleveland? It doesn't make any sense.

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