The Giants have a lot of questions that need answering this offseason and team co-owner John Mara gave some insight into some of those answers.
While in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine, Mara addressed issues surrounding several key components for the Giants, including Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz’s contract situation among others.
“They’re both priorities for us,” Mara told The Star-Ledger. “We hope they’re both Giants for a long time.”
Cruz previously has stated he wanted a new long-term deal with the Giants while it was reported the team had been focused on signing Nicks, not Cruz to an extension this offseason. Cruz said earlier this month he believes he deserves to be paid like other elite receivers in the NFL.
“I think I have definitely proven myself to be one of the highest compensated receivers in the league,” Cruz said.
Cruz and Nicks were not the only two Giants with contract issues that Mara discussed. Offensive lineman Will Beatty is set to become a free agent this year and the team could use its franchise tag on the offensive lineman.
Mara called Beatty, who appeared in all 16 games (15 starts) for the Giants this season, an “ascending player” and said he did not believe the team would use its franchise tag on the 27-year-old left tackle.
The co-owner also spoke confidently about the status of coach Tom Coughlin, saying there’s “no reason to think” the two-time Super Bowl winning coach would not at least finish out his contract with the team which expires in 2014.
Mara also addressed concerns surrounding MetLife Stadium, the site of Super Bowl XLVIII, following the 34-minute power outage that occurred during the Super Bowl earlier this month.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions about that, and we’re going to make sure we take extra precautions to see that it doesn’t happen,” Mara said. “We’ve involved PSE&G (Public Service Electric and Gas Company) in those discussions, and we’re going to have a lot of procedures built in to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
* Giants offensive guard Chris Snee had surgery on his hip earlier this week, ESPN reported last night.
The nine-year veteran played with pain in his hip toward the end of the season but played in the Pro Bowl.
There was a similar incident during a Giants home game in 2010 when a blown transformer caused an 11-minute delay in a game against the Cowboys.
“It was an isolated incident; we don’t think it could happen again,” Mara said. “Those types of issues are above and beyond my expertise, but we’ve brought in the right people, and I think we’ll be fine.”
In addition to speaking about contract status and MetLife Stadium, Mara jokingly discussed the notion that his role in the league taking away $36 million in salary cap space from the Redskins before last season was used as motivation in Washington’s 17-16 win against the Giants this season.
“I didn’t know I was such a good motivational speaker,” Mara said. “Didn’t bother me. I thought it was more amusing than anything else.”