More Tender News – Barry Cofield and Guy Whimper: According to The Star-Ledger and The Daily News, if there is no Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by the time free agency starts on March 5, the Giants will have tendered free agents DT Barry Cofield and OT Guy Whimper.
Without a CBA, 4- and 5-year players who would otherwise have been unrestricted free agents will now be restricted free agents, and thus eligible to be tendered.
Cofield, originally a 4th round draft choice, was tendered at the higher 2nd round level (1-year, $1.759 million). Whimper, also originally a 4th round draft choice, was tendered at the lowest amount (1-year, $1.176 million).
If either player is signed to an offer sheet by another team, the Giants will have the right to match that contract or receive draft-pick compensation from that team – a 2nd rounder for Cofield and a 4th rounder for Whimper.
Restricted free agents can be tendered at the following levels: (1) the round that they were originally drafted at, (2) a second-round tender, (3) a first-round tender, or (4) a first- and third-round tender. The higher the tender, the more expensive the player is to re-sign.
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