New York Giants Rumors: Johnathan Hankins Free Agency Update
New York Giants Rumors: Johnathan Hankins reportedly visited the Indianapolis Colts and left without a contract, further increasing the likelihood of him returning.
New York Giants rumors have begun focusing more and more on the 2017 NFL Draft. But, there is one more task that needs to get done in free agency; what will the Giants do with defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins?
We are now over a month into free agency and Hankins still remains without a contract. The 25-year old entered free agency with high hopes. He thought that he could land a contract that paid him more than $10 million annually, and who could blame him?
Despite coming off a down year, Hankins has proven he can be an above-average defensive tackle. With teams having more and more money available to spend in free agency, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Hankins would leave the Giants.
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Given the Giants salary cap situation, it made sense. The Giants did not have money to compete for high priced free agents, especially once Jason Pierre-Paul received the franchise tag. The Giants instead made cheaper signings, and then signed Pierre-Paul to a long-term deal to open up some more money.
They operated with under the radar signings, filling holes to improve specific areas of the team, such as the run blocking and red zone offense. They were also able to retain basically all of their main contributors from their defense last season; the only player that has not yet been retained is Hankins.
With each passing day, the chances of Hankins returning increases. That is in part because the market that never materialized for Hankins lessens.
Hankins has received scant interest from a couple of teams. The Miami Dolphins seemed to be the most aggressive team, calling Hankins numerous times. He was also loosely connected to the Detroit Lions. Most recently, he actually visited the Indianapolis Colts.
Field Yates reported on his Twitter that Hankins would be visiting the Colts. That happened earlier this week, but the Indianapolis Star reported that he left the meeting without a contract.
So Hankins remains a free agent and it looks like his options are dried up. The Giants have had a standing offer on the table from the outset of free agency. It probably was not as lucrative as Hankins had hoped, so he went looking for another offer to get the Giants to increase theirs.
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That other offer has not come and is unlikely to come. It seems more and more likely that Hankins and the Giants will come together on a deal. The Giants are not going to bet against themselves, so the offer will more than likely be on their terms.