New York Giants passed on signing Michael Johnson due to ‘economics’
By Josh Hill
The New York Giants have lost two of their better pass rushers over the past few seasons and that has created a need on the edge for someone to provide pressure on the quarterback. Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck both left in free agency in consecutive offseasons and New York failed to fill the position with anyone significant.
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One player that the Giants may have pursued this offseason was former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson, who eventually signed a fat contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dan Graziano from ESPN.com was asked why the Giants didn’t try to fill their need for a pass rusher with Michael Johnson this offseason, and the reasoning goes back to simple economics.
"Economics, basically. In the salary-cap era, the key concept in roster-building is allocation of resources. And while pass-rusher is a position to which the New York Giants have historically been willing to commit major resources, they entered the offseason fairly well committed there already, with a first-round pick sunk into Jason Pierre-Paul, a third-rounder in Damontre Moore and a still-decent-sized contract for Mathias Kiwanuka."
It’s not like the Giants ignored the position, as Graziano points out the players the Giants found to fill the void, but fans may have awaited to see a bigger splash. New York has instead decided to focus on the offensive side of things to make sure Eli Manning doesn’t have an epic meltdown again in 2014, but the defensive side of the ball was addressed as well.
Fans may not have seen the splashy signings that they wanted to see, but if the problem has been fixed and it leaves money for future additions, then there’s really nothing to be that upset about.