Philadelphia freedom I love you, yes I do...
Chances are this classic Elton John tune isn't on Gibril Wilson's iPod, but multiple reports are claiming that Wilson may leave the Super Bowl champion New York Giants to head down Route 95 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Gibril is one of four unrestricted free agents that can sign elsewhere this weekend. Both Mike Garafolo of The Star Ledger and Ralph Vacchiano on the Daily News are reporting that Wilson's asking price of $5 million per season is too high for the Giants who were hoping to spend somewhere in the $2-3 million range. The Eagles, Jaguars, and Broncos are among the teams interested in Wilson's services.
Can the Giants really afford to let Wilson go to the Eagles? Although the G-men just locked up their other starting safety, James Butler, for next year, they are terribly thin at that position. Rookie Michael Johnson is the only other true safety on the roster that saw action for New York in 2007. Craig Dahl, who had his season cut short by injury, was let go.
For the last handful of years, all Giant fans hear during training camp is that the pass rush is going to be so dominant that any weaknesses on the secondary would not have the chance to be exposed. Those promises finally came to fruition by the end of Super Bowl XLII, but not before first round playoff exits the prior two years and the Giants giving up 80 points over their first two contests in 2007.
Though Wilson is certainly not Ronnie Lott, obtaining a suitable replacement, one that will be able to comprehend and adapt to Steve Spagnuolo's multiple blitzing schemes, is no easy task. One of the better available safeties is the Jets' Erik Coleman, but replacing Wilson with a guy who started for a 4-12 team just does not seem to make much sense.
The other UFAs are linebackers Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor, as well as running back Derrick Ward.
The Giants have the best chance of retaining the veteran Mitchell who they were able to grab on the cheap last off-season. Mitchell got off to a slow start this season, but was a forced to be reckoned with during the playoffs.
Torbor has been disappointing over his first couple of seasons in the NFL. He has cracked the starting lineup on multiple occasions due to injuries, but the commentators would hardly mention his name beyond naming the starters. The Giants also have Gerris Wilkinson and Zak DeOssie to fill in at linebacker, with both seeing some game action this season.
Ward was on the verge of having a breakout season, filling in for Brandon Jacobs. However, Ward's own injury problems caught up with him and allowed rookie Ahmad Bradshaw to emerge as a better complement to Jacobs. With the Giants likely to retain Reuben Droughns, they will have plenty of depth at running back and another team will be able to take advantage of his services.
If Gibril Wilson is looking for another track for his ipod, he should try this Billy Joel tune out…
...I'm in a New York state of mind...
7 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Brian Gaylord about 1 year ago
Dan, I agree with your concern about Wilson's possible departure. I'm not overly concerned about retaining Mitchell (though I hope the Giants can) or Torbor with Wilkinson and DeOssie on hand and with Kiwanuka also returning at linebacker/end.
But at the rate running backs get dinged, it seems you can never have enough quality backs. Tiki was a durable exception. Last year the Giants entered the season with an embarrassment of riches at running back, so much so that they could afford to let Ryan Grant go on to stardom elsewhere. I agree with you on Bradshaw over Ward, but I think there's more upside to Ward (provided he's 100 percent recovered) than to Droughns.
Ward played very well this year as a featured back before getting hurt. Droughns only real value this year was in punching the ball into the end zone from a yard or two out, which Jacobs also does well.
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Dan Siegel about 1 year ago
I agree that Ward is better than Droughns at this stage of his career. When Droughns got regular carries, he showed no explosiveness when hitting a hole. The defense could cheat against him during predictable run situations. Droughns' value is probably more that of mentor to Jacobs and Bradshaw, who both can be a little hot-headed. He also can play fullback, which increases his value to the team. Jim Finn just got his contract terminated, and who knows about Robert Douglass, so Droughns might end up being the only potential backup to Hedgecock besides one of the tight ends.
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Dan Siegel about 1 year ago
Just as an update, Bob Glauber of Newsday is reporting that the raiders have joined in the hunt for Wilson, apparently being willing to sign him for $6-6.5 million per year.
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Brian Gaylord about 1 year ago
Good points about the fullback position. Thanks for the update regarding the Raiders interest in Wilson.
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Dan Siegel about 1 year ago
More updates:
-Kawika Mitchell has been signed by the Buffalo Bills.
-Them Eagles have signed Pats CB Asante Samuel.
-Multiple reports have surfaced about Wilson joining the Raiders, who aren't afraid of spending big this offseason.
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Dan Siegel about 1 year ago
ESPN.com's John Clayton is reporting that the Raiders and Wilson have agreed to a six-year, $39-million deal.
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Dan Siegel about 1 year ago
According to Bob Glauber of Newsday, the Dolphins have signed Reggie Torbor. No information on terms seems to be available.
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