INDIANAPOLIS — It is all about the money when it comes to Landon Collins returning to the Giants. They like him as a player and realize their defense is better when he is lining up at strong safety. They have until March 5 to either put the franchise tag on him or else watch him enter the open market in free agency. Given their salary-cap situation, it is not a sure thing Collins gets tagged.
“Here’s what everybody’s got to understand,” general manager Dave Gettleman said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “You got 53 players on your club and you got a salary cap. You don’t have 53 silos. Decisions like this cannot be made in a vacuum, you can’t do it.”
If the Giants put the tag on Collins, he would be assured of making around $11.2 million, but it would also cost the Giants $11.2 million on the 2019 salary cap, a figure Gettleman did not discount as insignificant. He portrayed a scenario in which whatever the Giants have as far as cap space — they are currently projected at around $27 million, before the league raises the cap next month by approximately $10 million — they need to stash away $8 million to $10 million for the start of the season, in case injuries force the Giants to sign a veteran free agent off the street.
“I’ve been in those shoes as a pro [personnel] guy, so-and-so gets hurt and they come in, we got no money, so it’s got to be a practice-squad guy,” Gettleman said. “Now that conversation is different, isn’t it?”
Collins missed the final four games last season with a shoulder injury and needed surgery to repair a partially torn left labrum. Gettleman said from what he hears, the rehab is “coming along very nicely.” Collins was at the Giants facility rehabbing, and coach Pat Shurmur said he has spoken often with him. Last week, an ESPN report surfaced that Collins cleaned out his locker and said goodbye to Giants players and coaches because he was expecting not to be back. Collins later clarified he only removed some personal items from his locker.
Dave GettlemanAP“I haven’t sensed the report, I think it was reported with way more drama than what actually happened,” Shurmur said.
Collins wants to stay with the team that drafted him in 2015 and is seeking a financial commitment in a long-term deal, rather than a one-year franchise tag. If the Giants do tag Collins, he would not have to sign it immediately and can stay away from all team activities in the spring. If that happens, the Giants could not use the $11.2 million they allocated to Collins, plus they run the risk of having a disgruntled player on their hands.
“Let’s go to the conversation of eliminating distractions,” Gettleman said. “You tag a guy, he’s mad, and that’s all you guys are gonna write about for six months. I have to say to myself, ‘Is it worth it?’ I don’t understand where the franchise tag became such a terrible thing for a player. I don’t get it. That’s me.”
Shurmur said he is “aware” there have been conversations between the team and Collins regarding the tag and/or a new deal. Gettleman does not talk contracts. Collins, 25, has been selected to the Pro Bowl in three of his four seasons with the Giants, and if they let him go, they would lose an impact player from a defense that needs more of them.
To that, Gettleman said, “We’re still evaluating.”
