Giants fans who want Myles Jack: Be realistic

Linebacker Myles Jack is on the market. But let’s be real — he won’t be a Giant.

The NFL free agency period, which commenced its “legal tampering period” Monday at noon ET, doesn’t just play host to acquisitions.

None of the 32 teams are in possession of unlimited funds — the salary cap is a tool designed to maintain a competitive balance. Thus, departures additionally take place in this period of the offseason. In order to create cap space, organizations make the tough decisions to part ways with numerous players.

That’s what occurred on Tuesday in North Florida. A day after the Jaguars agreed to new deals with various players, such as wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, tight end Evan Engram, and defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi, the team chose to release linebacker Myles Jack.

And thus began the salivating from fans of numerous teams that could acquire the 26-year-old.

With some ballclubs, the signing of the wildly talented Jack would make sense.

But it wouldn’t for the New York Giants.

Cap-strapped

The Giants have little-to-no money.

It’s why they haven’t made any huge moves thus far in the free agency period — their time to shine will be in the draft, an event in which they currently own nine selections (including the No. 5 and 7 overall picks).

But the moves they have made since Monday are ones that were necessary.

Since the start of the “legal tampering period,” the Giants have agreed to terms with interior offensive linemen Mark Glowinski (three-year deal) and Jon Feliciano (one-year deal). Last year, with Dave Gettleman at the helm, the Giants didn’t make any notable moves to improve the offensive line during this period of the offseason.

Nor, did they upgrade the unit during the draft. This eventually cost New York, who finished 28th in pass-block win rate (54%) and needed to cycle through various linemen due to injuries.

So why is this relevant to Myles Jack?

Because with the limited space the Giants have owned, they’ve actually used it to upgrade the specific roster spots that need upgrading. The linebacker position, at the moment, is not one of these roster spots.

The Giants are already set at the inside linebacker roles in a 3-4 scheme with the employment of Blake Martinez and Tae Crowder, two obvious starters for Wink Martindale’s defense. There’s no reason to dish out a decent amount of cap space on Jack, who plays a position the Giants don’t need to heavily address through free agency.

He’s talented; nobody is denying that. But that’s why it would be legitimately difficult for the Giants to acquire him given the financial situation they’re currently in. Jack wouldn’t be a reserve option, so he wouldn’t cost a reserve-type salary. He’s averaged 113 combined tackles per season over the last two years — he deserves a significant chunk of change, which the Giants simply don’t have.

I understand if you want Myles Jack — he’s a superb player who would improve any defense.

But the Giants are in no position to acquire him. Big Blue fans must be realistic about this.

Follow Ryan Honey on Twitter: @RyanHoneyESNY

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