The Giants Have Reportedly Told Landon Collins That They Won't Be Using The Franchise Tag On Him
So here we go Giants fans. Dave Gettleman is reportedly continuing to do things his way or the highway and it looks like our Defensive Player of the Year candidate from a few seasons ago is heading onto the Jersey Turnpike and going to another team. I say reportedly because nothing is official until Landon clears the rest of the stuff out of his locker.
But seriously, I think most Giants fans knew this was coming since #LockerWatch happened along with Gettleman’s history with the franchise tag and secondary players (namely when he took the franchise tag off of Josh Norman back when he was seen as an #elite cornerback). I’m not saying it makes it right, but it is what it is. I know the reports that the reason the Giants are passing on tagging Collins is because he’s had injury issues and is not great at pass coverage. But he didn’t have lingering injuries in problem spots and I think he has proven when you put another safety next to him that can play the ball and let Collins do what he is great at on defense, which is shit like this.
I know Gettleman was also wary of the distraction a franchise tag can cause. But I don’t think Landon Collins was going to go Le’Veon Bell on the Giants because they used the tag ONE time on him and maybe just maybe the Giants and Collins work something out over the next year. However I think in the end, Gettleman simply didn’t value Collins as much as he was going to have to pay him under the tag. But when you put willfully cutting ties with a potential All-Pro player alongside the failed signings of last year as well as the QB position being completely neglected, I think it’s safe to say that Gettleman has used up any goodwill he had before taking this job (I’m not going to dive into Eli being scheduled to make $23 MILLION next season because that’s a whole other mess). I understand that safety is not a position that commands top dollar these days and there is a decent batch of free agents. But fuck it hurts losing a beloved stud and a leader in the locker room like Landon Collins, doubly so when you could have traded him before the deadline for a pick instead of losing him for nothing in a lost season like the Mets did with Jose Reyes once upon a time. I still can’t believe we are letting a guy that did this only a few seasons ago walk for nothing.
So Davey if you are reading this, you better hope Landon doesn’t once again become a DPOY candidate let alone a DPOY candidate with a rival and you better replace him with a player that is a fucking monster in coverage, because this all seems like another crazy Gettleman move.
Oh yeah and after seeing this, you can start chiseling Landon Collins’ Hall of Fame bust for Canton right this moment.
Here’s a spinzone to make Giants fans feel better!
Actually that didn’t work because hitting on your draft picks and getting young, talented, affordable players in the draft and knowing which players are worth paying a big 2nd contract bc you see them everyday to is extremely important for success in the NFL (shout out to Zak DeOssie for being a fucking legend though).
Updated spinzone: At least Giants writers had something to keep them busy so they could stop coming up with Odell Beckham trade rumors.