New York Giants: 5 internal free agents to keep and 5 to let walk away
By Ed Stein
On the fence
Among the pending Giants free agents, there are a few players who could go either way.
Deone Buchanon, LB/S, UFA (28-years-old, 2019 salary – $850K): Last season the G-Men brought Buchanon in because of the many injuries to their defensive personnel. He was marginally effective, but a bit underutilized. Buchanon’s value is that he can play several different positions competently. He isn’t a starter at all of them but can be a good fill in. Buchanon might even thrive if given an opportunity in the right system.
Jon Halapio, C, RFA (29, $645K): Jon Halapio and the Giants are at a crossroads. In the past two training camps, he has beaten out Spencer Pulley for the starting center job. The four-year pro has also suffered major injuries in both seasons. His 2018 ended in the second game when Halapio suffered a nasty leg/ankle fracture against Dallas.
Halapio worked hard to come back and get in top shape. He made it to within four minutes of playing a complete 2019 season, but he was “snake bit” again. This time he tore his Achilles tendon, which puts him in jeopardy of missing the entire 2020 season (ask Kevin Durant about recovering from that injury). Gettleman and Judge have a tough decision here. It shouldn’t cost very much to re-sign Halapio, but his injury history might make it better for the G-Men to go in another direction.
We move on to the Clash section or who should stay and who should go. Counting toward the most important decisions.