Tenders Keep Rolling In – Hixon, Hagan, Moss: According to The Star-Ledger and The Daily News, the Giants have tendered soon-to-be restricted free agent wide receivers Domenik Hixon, Derek Hagan, and Sinorice Moss.
Hixon, originally a 4th round draft choice, was tendered at the higher 2nd round level (1-year, $1.684 million). Moss, a 2nd round draft choice, was tendered at the lowest amount (1-year, $1.176 million). There is no word yet at what level Hagan was tendered at.
If any tendered 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. The compensation for Hixon or Moss would be a 2nd round draft pick from the signing team in the upcoming draft.
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.
Dockery and Johnson Not Tendered: In a somewhat surprising move, according to The Star-Ledger, the Giants have not tendered CB Kevin Dockery. That means Dockery will be an unrestricted free agent on March 5th. Not tendering Dockery suggests the Giants have little or no interest in retaining his services.
Meanwhile, The Daily News is reporting that TE Darcy Johnson was not tendered, thus again suggesting that the Giants have little or no interest having him return. Johnson will be an unrestricted free agent.
Tom Coughlin Does Not Guarantee Osi Umenyiora Starting Spot: Head Coach Tom Coughlin was asked by the media yesterday if he would guarantee that DE Osi Umenyiora would start next season.
“I don’t know how you do that,” said Coughlin. “Our field is the field, and competition is good. It’s like we tell everybody: go earn it.”
Umenyiora, who lost his starting job last season, has threatened to retire unless he starts. Coughlin confirmed that both he and General Manager Jerry Reese have met with Umenyiora recently. New defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has also talked to him.
“I just reassured Osi our expectations for him were very high,” said Coughlin. “He’s an integral part of our plans and of our defensive football team. Osi is a big part of our team and the word ‘team’ is critical to me.”
“Osi’s a big part of our team and we expect he’ll come back, work as hard as he can and be a big part of our defensive rejuvenation, if you will,” Coughlin said. “Competition is a very good thing. We’ve been able to, over the course of the last few years, have a very good system whereby we waved our defensive linemen in. It helped us in our Super Bowl year and we continue to do that. But Osi’s a big part of our plans.”
Coughlin was asked if he was upsset that Umenyiora went public with his complaints. “Naturally, it did. It should start with me,” responded Coughlin. “He should come in and talk to me, which he did do, and we had a good talk but that’s where it’ll stop.”
Coughlin was also asked if this situation will end up like TE Jeremy Shockey’s departure with the team. “I don’t think so. I hope not,” Coughlin said. “There’s great respect for Osi and his ability and I think vice versa. Osi, for the New York Giants, I think he wants to be here and I think he wants to be a part of our team.”
Media Q&A With Head Coach Tom Coughlin: Most of the transcript of yesterday’s media Q&A with Head Coach Tom Coughlin at the NFL Combine is now available at NJ.com. A few other quotes from Coughlin not appearing in that transcript:
Coughlin on new quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan helping QB Eli Manning on the fundamental aspects of the game: “I am very confident. Not only that, he has got Kevin Gilbride, I am there, we are all wired into that spot. The kind of coach that Mike is, the kind of individual that he is, he will be busting his tail from Day One. He just looks forward to this and I think Eli feels the same way.”
Coughlin on Manning’s need for coaching: “We all need it. We all need to just make sure we are on the right track. He wants to be coached. Eli wants to be coached and be the best he can possibly be. He wants people around him that are coaching him. That’s the kind of individual that he is. He aspires to greatness, to wanting to do everything in his power. He wants to be coached, he wants to be motivated, he wants to be told when he’s doing something right or wrong or how he can improve it. That’s just the way he is. Matching him up with Mike Sullivan as quarterbacks coach…Mike Sullivan is very intelligent, very meticulous, very detailed, very organized. He’s already begun to compile his technique book if you will after studying Eli and trying to come up with ways in which he can help Eli recognize how to improve his game.”
Coughlin on whether LB Antonio Pierce’s neck injury was a factor in his release: “Not really. Those decisions are made at the highest level. I’m really not going to shed a whole lot of light on it. Antonio, again, was a great player for the New York Giants. He was a wonderful acquisition for us. We played against him when he was in Washington. He was the kind of player I really looked forward to having with us because he had the qualities of leadership and was able to inspire other guys around him. He certainly was a huge part of our Super Bowl team and continued to be a leader on the field.”
On what Coughlin told Pierce: “I said, ‘I love ya. You’re a part of the New York Giant history and you always will be.’”