Giants President John Mara held a Zoom press conference on April 1st (save the sarcasm and April Fool’s jokes for another time) to discuss the offseason moves the team has made so far.
In a nutshell, he made no bones about how “brutal” the last five seasons have been for him.
Mara’s stamp of approval, as co-owner with Steve Tisch, is required on every deal GM Dave Gettleman brings forward.
The owners have a clear belief that Head Coach Joe Judge and his staff have turned a significant corner in getting this team to believe in itself and that they can win.
That belief has made the free-agent decisions, especially the high-dollar signings, much more palatable.
“There were opportunities that presented themselves to add quality young players that were highly regarded, that we think can make an impact, and were also positions of need. So, we took advantage of [that availability].”
He also commented on how thorough Joe Judge has been in his evaluations of the free agents and potential offseason moves even before the players walked in the building. And getting the players into the building to meet everyone and take physicals before signing has made the decisions much easier.
Mara made it clear he likes the direction the team is headed and reiterated the team is by no means a finished product. He raved about how Joe Judge has won over the players, the fans, and management.
Photo: —Mara also expressed regret in losing Dalvin Tomlinson, a captain, and leader of the team, in 2020. While he alluded to hindsight that the team might have been better served if they had traded Dalvin at the trade deadline, bt also mentioned the team was still in the playoff hunt and wanted to keep Dalvin for the final push.
He further said he understands there are three key players approaching the end of current contracts, Jabril Peppers, Saquon Barkley, and Evan Engram. While he hopes the team can extend all three, he certainly was non-committal about it happening anytime soon.
The owners’ and management’s attention has now shifted to the draft to fill any remaining gaps. The free-agent spending spree has filled multiple holes on the team, which allows the team greater flexibility in taking players via the draft.
They can now, in essence, truly take the best player available without any real glaring need to fill.
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