NFL Free Agency: New York Giants to sign Olivier Vernon
By Jason Parker
The New York Giants have reportedly reached a deal with defensive end Olivier Vernon, who spent his entire four year career with the Miami Dolphins.
As the clock was ticking down to the beginning of the 2016 NFL free agency period Wednesday, news broke that the Jacksonville Jaguars had agreed to a deal with free agent defensive end Olivier Vernon. As it turned out, that info came from a fake Twitter account (surely forcing Adam Schefter’s head to exploded at some point before he came back on television).
Now, it appears that Vernon does have a new home that has been confirmed by legitimate sources. The four year veteran will be heading from South Florida to the Northeast and joining the New York Giants:
Giants get DE Olivier Vernon, source says. For real.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 9, 2016
For Olivier Vernon and the #Giants, I'm told it's the biggest defensive end deal in history with the most guaranteed money
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016
Vernon spent his entire career in Miami (where he also grew up and played college football for the Hurricanes), coming up with 29 sacks during that time and becoming the main threat on the edge when Cameron Wake went down with an injury midway through the 2015 season.
The Dolphins placed their transition tag on Vernon, but removed it after the team agreed to a deal with defensive end Mario Williams on a two year contract. Miami will now get a compensatory pick in this year’s NFL Draft as a result, though it will not come from one of the New York Giants’ group of picks.
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