E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat
writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995. He is the author of 26 books
and he was one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls
up until last year. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.
PRO BOWL TE WALLER ACQUIRED IN TRADE WITH LAS VEGAS RAIDERS By
Dave Klein The Unrestricted Free Agency
signing frenzy is in full action this week, so the Giants did something unexpected
- they traded for a Pro Bowl tight end. Yep,
while other teams were looking for bargains, the Giants' personnel squad led by
GM Joe Schoen made a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders for tight end Darren Waller,
who is already signed and whose income is only guaranteed through this coming
season. Surprisingly, the cost for Waller
was "only" a third-round draft pick next month - and it will be the one the Giants
acquired from Kansas City in the mid-season trade of failed first round draftee
wide receiver Kadarius Toney. Waller,
6-5 and 255, is a product of Georgia Tech who has been in the NFL for seven years
following his drafting by Baltimore in 2015 (sixth round). In 2018 he was claimed
off the Ravens' practice squad by the Raiders. The
Giants' projected starter has had a troubled early career. In 2017 he was suspended
for one year for violating the league's substance abuse policy. At the age of
15, Waller was charged with abusing Oxycodone, at 16 it was alcohol and in 2017
he overdosed on Oxycodone. He spent 34 days in a rehabilitation center and when
released finished his high school career and accepted a scholarship to Georgia
Tech. The Giants' plan is to utilize
him along with last year's rookie standout, Daniel Bellinger (fourth round), often
at the same time, to provide additional receiving insurance for the recently re-signed
Daniel Jones, now the proud possessor of a four-year, $160 million contract. Waller
is 31 and has played in only 17 games over the past two seasons. Last year he
caught 30 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns, but over his full career he
has 298 receptions for 3,572 yards and 19 touchdowns. In each of the past two
seasons he was hampered by a pulled hamstring muscle. His
current contract, signed last year when he was still a Raider, was for four years
and $46 million but only carries a guarantee for 2023, when he will earn $11 million
with a $200,000 workout bonus and $1.25 million per-game bonus. He remains the
highest-paid tight end in the NFL, and when healthy qualified as the second- or
third-best at the position in the league. Waller
earned a Pro Bowl designation after the 2020 season when he caught 107 passes
for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. For
the musically-inclined fans, Waller is the great-grandson of former jazz pianist
and legend Thomas "Fats" Waller. ---
Then, following the free Agent trend, Schoen signed former Indianapolis Colts'
inside linebacker Bobby Okereke (6-2, 235, Stanford). The
deal was done yesterday, but most news sources properly waited until Tuesday since
the contract had not been signed and changes of mind, you know, can sour things
in a hurry. Okereke's last two seasons
with the Colts resulted in 283 total tackles. He signed for a reported $40 million
over four years and is expected to win an inside linebacker position as a starter.
He was drafted in the third round of the 2019 collegiate body snatch. ---
The Giants also signed second-team running back Matt Breida to a new contract,
one year for $3.2 million. … He played in all 19 regular and playoff games in
2022, and his regular season numbers were 54 carries for 220 yards as the backup
for Saquon Barkley. davesklein@aol.com You
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