The New York Giants lost a good football player today.  Kevin Boss has signed a four-year, $16 million deal with the Oakland Raiders to replace Zach Miller who bolted Oakland for Seattle.

I was reminded by many sources in this industry to "relax" and not to get crazy about the lack of movement from the Giants in free agency.  

In the back of my disgruntled mind, I was holding onto the thought that Jerry Reese would get it done.

The mission: sign all of the important pieces that make the Giants a playoff team.

Jerry Reese came up short again.

This recent development puts the Giants offensive in a very bad spot.  Kevin Boss was a tough, sure-handed receiver who Eli Manning depended on week in and week out.

Boss was a good blocker and one of the toughest tight ends in the league.  How many huge shots did he take grabbing a high throw over the middle from Eli Manning?

To replace the dependable tight end on the roster are Travis Beckum, Ben Patrick and Bear Pascoe.

Beckum is a hybrid Tight End in the mold of Clark and Cooley but with much less talent, while Ben Patrick the seventh-round pick in 2007 from the University of Delaware is more classic in style.

Kevin Boss in his short tenure pulled down 119 catches for 1,600 yards and 18 TDs.  He averaged over 13 yards a catch, and his production will be missed.  

And may I remind you how little the NY Giants and Gilbride use the tight end.  Think what kind of numbers Kevin Boss could have produced if they actually tried to use him more.

Kevin Boss is not Dallas Clark, Chris Cooley, Jason Witten or Antonio Gates. However, he fit the Giants system and was a key contributor to the 2007 Super Bowl run. 

The big question is how do the New York Giants have the money for Michael Clayton, Rocky Bernard, Ben Patrick, Stacy Andrews, Andre Brown, Christian Hopkins, David Carr and Chris White, all unproven players. 

But no money for a proven contributor in Kevin Boss.