Giants
Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown said he’s going to bring innovation and an analytical mindset to the Giants’ organization.
“When everyone knows what we know, what we know is no longer important. You always want to be pushing the envelope forward and not be reactive to what’s going on,” Brown said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “Whether it’s involving the scheme, whether it’s involving the player usage, whether it’s involving where to find players. That’s a process I put into practice in Philadelphia, football players come from every walk of life. That was shown through finding players in Canada, finding players who played rugby, finding players that came from small schools. It doesn’t matter. If you have the developmental mindset and the developmental physical traits, and you have the aptitude to learn, then it’s our job in terms of personnel and coaching and player development to get you onto the right onboarding process and that maximizes you as you’re going on in your role and eventually on game day.”
Panthers
Panthers GM Scott Fitterer went to great lengths to explain their thinking behind signing TE Ian Thomas to a three-year, $16.5 million deal when he had just 18 catches in 2021.
“Ian — the way he plays for us — he’s an in-line blocker that has the ability to get down the seam. I was telling people earlier, he’s hit 20+ mph in GPS. The guy, once he opens up, can really run. He’s got receiving skills,” Fitterer said via Panthers Wire’s Anthony Rizzuti. “He probably has not shown that as much, probably in the past year or two. There’s been other positions that have had troubles because of offensive issues. I do see a big future with him. One thing it does, having a guy like that, defenses can’t mesh personnel. When he comes in, they can’t run another nickel on the field. They have to stay in their base personnel. So when you have a guy that can block in-line, get down the seam and catch the ball—that really helps us and that’s one of the big factors. That and [offensive coordinator] Ben McAdoo and how he uses tight ends in this offense — that was a big factor in this, too. He identified this as his player that could really help us.”
Fitterer also noted they view re-signing players like Thomas and LB Frankie Luvu, who inked a two-year $9 million deal earlier this offseason, as a part of their free-agent class. They’re taking a much more measured approach with others like DE Haason Reddick, however.
“I talked to Haason’s guys here. We’ve had a lot of discussion really over the last couple of weeks. And I think Haason has earned the right to go out and see what he can get,” Fitterer said. “He’s had two years in a row, double-digit sacks. And he’s gonna command a lot of money on the open market. And if he gets that, I’m happy for him. We just want the dialogue to be open and give us a chance and see where it goes.”
Luvu does a lot of similar things to Reddick but Fitterer pushed back against the idea they brought him back to be a cheaper replacement.
“I wouldn’t say it was insurance. I’d say it’s independent. We just identified him as a player we wanted on this roster — that can help us from a special teams standpoint, leadership standpoint, pass rush standpoint,” Fitterer said. “And we think he can play on the edge. He can also play behind the ball as a linebacker. So he gives us a lot of flexibility. And then the person himself, we didn’t wanna lose him. He means too much to our team.”
Fitterer added they’re in open communication with other pending free agents like CBs Stephon Gilmore and Donte Jackson. It sounds like Carolina will let the market set their price and try to match if they like the value.
“Yeah, we’re going through that process as well. We have to see how that fits in,” he said. “We have Donte that’s up as well. We made a move for C.J. Henderson last year to put us in a position where we’re not like panicking and are not forcing something that’s not there. So we’ll stay in contact with him.”
Seahawks
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll continued to give updates on S Jamal Adams, who is currently recovering from shoulder surgery following an injury he suffered during the season.
“He sounds great,” Carroll said, via SeahawksWire.com. “He’s just chomping at the bit. He just wants to get going right now. He feels like, he left too much out there. And also his attitude is great. I just communicated with him Monday.”
Seahawks DC Clint Hurtt wants to see what Adams can provide for the defense in what will be Hurtt’s first season with the team.
“Jamal is still a difference-maker,” Hurtt said. “How we use him, that’s going to be on me. It’s our responsibility, my responsibility to make sure we put him in positions so he can be at his very best, and we know how great he is at doing that. He’s going to continue to get better, and obviously, there are multiple things he’s got to be able to do, so the quarterback can’t always peg him for just being one particular type of way.”
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