The Giants will part ways with the center who started on their 2011 Super Bowl championship team and as early as Tuesday might have his replacement signed and secured. Such is the breakneck pace of NFL free agency, as David Baas is going and Evan Dietrich-Smith could be coming aboard.
Baas was scheduled to make $4.75 million in 2014 and count a bloated $8.225 million against the salary cap. He might have stayed if he agreed to a massive pay cut, but the key here is the Giants do not consider Baas to be healthy, coming off neck and knee surgeries and having played in only three games in 2013. Parting ways with Baas will save the Giants $1.7 million on this year’s salary cap.
In need of a new center, the Giants have set their sights on Dietrich-Smith, who spent the past five years with the Packers, a factor that gives him a big advantage considering the Giants new offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo, spent eight years coaching tight ends and later quarterbacks in Green Bay.
Dietrich-Smith, 27, has started 25 games in his NFL career, including all 16 last season and gained the trust of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Giants also inquired about Brian de la Puente, who started 44 games in the last three seasons for the salary cap–strapped Saints, including all 16 in 2012 and 2013.
Kevin Boothe, an unrestricted free agent, can play center and guard and remains an option. With Baas gone, the only offensive lineman remaining from Super Bowl XLVI is Chris Snee, who hopes to play this season coming off hip and elbow surgeries.
Snee, 32, knew in order to remain on the roster he’d have to accept a massive pay cut, as he was scheduled to make $7.2 million and count $11.75 million on this year’s salary cap. He agreed to an enormous cut that slashes his salary to $1.1 million. He can earn up to $1 million in incentives, making the maximum value of the deal $2.1 million.
The drastic cut saves the Giants $5.6 million on this year’s salary cap — they now are nearly $25 million under the cap heading into free agency.
In addition to Snee, punter Steve Weatherford, set to make $2 million in 2014, took a pay cut of about $1 million to further free up additional cap space.
Clearly, the Giants are looking for upgrades not only on their offensive line. As far as tight end, the Giants have shown interest in Brandon Pettigrew of the Lions, Andrew Quarless of the Packers and Ed Dickson of the Ravens.
Of the three, Pettigrew is the most proven player and would undoubtedly cost the most money . Pettigrew, 29, is a former first-round draft pick with 284 career receptions for 2,828 yards and 16 touchdowns. His best season was 2011 (83 catches for 777 yards) and 2013 was not one of his best years (41 catches for 416 yards). He’s also big enough (6-5, 265) to be an effective blocker, something the Giants view as a prerequisite for the position.
Dickson, 27, has not done much since his best season, 2011, when he caught 54 passes for 528 yards and five touchdowns. In 16 games last season, he had only 25 receptions for 273 yards and one TD. McAdoo knows all about Quarless, as he was his tight ends coach for six years in Green Bay. Quarless played behind Jermichael
Finley — who is also a free agent, but coming off neck surgery — and in four years caught 56 passes for 586 yards and three TDs.
Quarless, 25, played high school football on Long Island at Uniondale and then went on to play to Penn State. At the moment, the Giants have virtually nothing to show for their tight end position. They fired their respected, long-time tight end coach, Mike Pope. They have not expressed any interest in re-signing Brandon Myers, who struggled through an uneven 2013 season. Bear Pascoe is an unrestricted free agent. The only tight ends on the roster are Adrien Robinson, Larry Donnell and Daniel Fells.
Linebacker Jameel McClain, cut by the Ravens, visited with the Giants last week and on Monday was in Minnesota meeting with the Vikings. “The door is still open’’ with the Giants, said an NFL source.
As for their own free agents, the Giants near completing a two-year deal to bring back cornerback Trumaine McBride and are finalizing a contract for the return of kicker Josh Brown.