Giants Pick Up OL Justin Pugh’s Fifth-Year Option

Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reports that the Giants have picked up OL Justin Pugh‘s fifth-year option on Tuesday.

The fifth-year option will run them $8.8 million in 2017, but this figure is guaranteed only for injury and won’t prevent them from working on a long-term extension over the next year.

Dan Graziano previously mentioned that this was a “no-brainer” move for the Giants. As of now, the two sides reportedly have not had any substantive talks regarding a contract extension for Pugh.

In the end, Granziano expects Pugh to play out the 2017 season under his fifth-option salary before they discuss a new contract.

Pugh,  25, was selected No. 19 overall by the Giants back in 2013. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $8.346 million contract that included a $4,449,744 signing bonus and a base salary of $1,157,307 for the 2016 season.

In 2015, Pugh appeared in 14 games and was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 9 offensive tackle out of 77 qualifying players.