It did not take long for Tyrann Mathieu to find a new football home.
The talented and versatile safety is headed to Houston after he agreed to terms Friday night on a one-year, $7 million contract with the Texans, according to an ESPN report. Mathieu, known as Honey Badger, hit the open market when he was released by the Cardinals, who wanted him to take a significant pay cut.
The Giants would have loved to sign Mathieu, who played the past three years for James Bettcher, when he was the defensive coordinator in Arizona. Bettcher now runs the Giants’ defense and there is a need for a safety alongside Landon Collins and a slot cornerback to replace Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Mathieu could have filled both roles, but there was one problem: The Giants did not have the salary cap space to make a move.
That did not stop one of the newest Giants from dreaming.
“That would be amazing,’’ Kareem Martin, the newly signed Giants linebacker, said Friday of his teammate in Arizona the past four years. “He’s such a great player and he thrives in this defense the last few years. He’s a playmaker and with him and coach Bettcher, Bettcher knows how to put him in the right spots to make him successful and I’m not sure what he’s hearing as far as free agency goes, but I would love to have him come back here and play with me.’’
Alec Ogletree, the new Giants linebacker acquired in a trade with the Rams, took to Twitter a few days ago to try to convince Mathieu to come to the Giants.
“I think he would have a big impact,’’ Ogletree said. “Of course being in the division with him and just seeing his body of work … I know the type of football player he is and I definitely think he brings a lot to the table for sure.’’
The Giants, though, are pressed up against the salary cap after adding Ogletree and signing left tackle Nate Solder. They had little space to work with and the need to keep enough of an allotment (approximately $9 million) to sign their draft picks, including the No. 2 overall pick, who will command a contract in the neighborhood of $31 million and take up $5.6 million on the 2018 cap. They gained $5.25 in cap space by restructuring Ogletree’s contract, converting his $7 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. It was not enough, though, to make a run at Mathieu.
