Odell Beckham Jr., Justin Pugh and other key members of the New York Giants will have to wait for contract extensions.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the New York Giants are in no rush to lock up players who are entering the final year of their contracts.
It’s a wise move, as the Giants have less than $8 million in available salary cap room. They need to keep that cap space to guard against a major injury in training camp.
Offensive linemen Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg, along with linebackers Jonathan Casillas and Devon Kennard are among the players in need of extensions. But star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is perhaps the biggest name waiting for a new deal.
Giants owner John Mara isn’t worried about keeping any of them around, especially Beckham.
“He deserves to get paid, we’re going to pay him,” Mara told Raanan. “It’s just a question of when we enter into the contract, and I don’t have a timetable on it right now. I just don’t think there’s any need to rush into it. He’s going to end up getting paid at some point.”
Those remarks go along with what Mara said during a recent town hall, per Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record.
Fan asks John Mara if #NYG talked long-term deal on @OBJ_3. Not yet, but: "Obviously we want him to be a Giant for the rest of his career."
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) June 6, 2017
None of the players seem particularly concerned about their contract status.
“I’m not even worrying about contracts,” Pugh explained to Raanan. “That’s something that’s talked about outside of this building. You can’t worry about that. If you let that start creeping in, it’s going to start affecting how you prepare. So that’s not even … that’s a no-brainer for me. I’m just getting ready to go out and win games. I mean, if we win games everything will take care of itself.”
Pugh and Richburg are both anchors on the offensive line. The Giants figure to pay them accordingly. Kennard has thrived in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s blitz-heavy scheme and is likely to want to stay, as he is a great fit. The same goes for Casillias, who is a defensive captain and a New Jersey native.
The Giants have no intentions of losing five key starters to free agency. It’s a matter of when, not if, new contracts for these players get done.
