The New York Giants are currently enjoying their summer break but that doesn’t necessarily mean roster tinkering has concluded. General manager Joe Schoen is forever looking for ways to improve the team and several needs remain.
One potential need comes at defensive tackle, where the Giants are somewhat thin behind superstar Dexter Lawrence.
There is some quality talent in Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Jordon Riley, and Jordan Phillips but Riley is still developing and Phillips, who contemplated retirement this offseason, could become a cap casualty.
Aaron Schatz of ESPN believes the Giants could shore up the position and quell some of those concerns by signing veteran defensive tackle Lawrence Guy.
The Giants’ biggest roster hole probably is tight end after the retirement of Darren Waller, but without a lot of strong tight ends available on the free agency market, it’s hard to recommend that as a big final move. Instead, the Giants have several places on their defense where they could add veteran depth. Guy spent the past seven seasons with the Patriots and can play against the pass and the run. He had an 83% stop rate last season on his run tackles, meaning that they stopped a successful offensive play 83% of the time. The Giants don’t want to be rotating out Dexter Lawrence very much, but Guy would give them more depth along with Jordan Phillips and Rakeem Nunez-Roches.
The 34-year-old Guy was originally selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL draft. He also had stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, and Baltimore Ravens before spending the past seven seasons with the New England Patriots.
In 177 career games (122 starts), Guy has recorded 507 tackles (271 solo, 39 for a loss), 63 QB hits, 17.0 sacks, nine passes defensed, one interception, and two forced fumbles.
Although Guy would represent solid depth and a veteran presence, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen seems inclined to add an interior option who excels at rushing the passer. That is not exactly what Guy does best.
