Key Takeaways from NY Giants GM Jerry Reese's Combine Press Conference

New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese closed out the weeklong series of head coach and general manager press conferences at the 2015 NFL combine on Saturday.

Here's a look at seven key takeaways from his press conference with reporters and what they likely mean for the club moving forward into next month's free-agency period and the upcoming draft.

Odell Beckham Jr. Didn’t Play with 2 Torn Hamstrings

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During the Pro Bowl, receiver Odell Beckham Jr. revealed to reporters that his rookie season was plagued by two torn hamstrings.

 “They healed up enough to where I could play with them, but they were never truly good and I’m still just working on them and trying to get ready,” Beckham told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

General manager Jerry Reese said that wasn't the case and that Beckham couldn't have played with two torn hamstrings and still run the way he did.

“I don't know about that. I think he was trying to be a hero,” Reese said at the combine. “I don't think you can run fast like that with two torn hamstrings.”

Reese also confirmed that team doctors wouldn't have cleared Beckham to play in the Pro Bowl if he had two torn hamstrings.

“I think our doctors would have caught that,” he said.

Without having actually heard the quote from Beckham, it is possible that one tear might have been the one that kept him out of most of the spring while the second tear might have been the setback he experienced a week into training camp, a result of the rookie trying to get back on the field before he was physically ready.

“We tried to put him back in there a little too soon,” Reese admitted. “With those hamstrings, you just have to rest them and let them heal.”

So what exactly was the story with Beckham, who finished his rookie year with 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns?

“He may have gotten fatigued later in the season, but I don't think you can go out and run like that if you've got a couple of torn hamstrings,” Reese said.

The Giants Are Talking with Jason Pierre-Paul About a New Contract

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Jerry Reese did confirm that the team is talking to representatives of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul about a new contract; however, he refused to describe the process or where it was, saying it was “not appropriate” to discuss the defensive end’s contract situation.

Reese also said the same thing about quarterback Eli Manning’s contract situation. Manning is entering the final year of his contract, a year in which he’s due to count for $19.75 million against the salary cap, according to Over the Cap.

It is possible that the reason why the Giants haven’t made more progress in their discussions with Pierre-Paul, Manning and even cornerback Prince Amukamara—whose contract ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano said Reese is open to extending—is because the 2015 salary cap hasn't been finalized.

Tom Pelissero of USA Today reported that NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith has projected the cap to be around $143 million.

That estimate, Pelissero writes, differs from the $136.6 to $141.8 million range that the NFL Management Council projected for the 2015 salary cap.

Speaking of the cap, Reese was asked about the team’s financial health. “I think we're in pretty good health. We're headed in the right direction with respect to the cap.”

They could be better, though. Per Over the Cap, which revised its cap-space projections to reflect a $143 million salary cap, the Giants have $19,846,755 of cap space left.

If they franchise Pierre-Paul, as Steve Serby of the New York Post reported will be the case, such a move would cost them an estimated $14.6 million of whatever cap space they do have.

Reese, however, isn't worried about being limited by the cap in free agency.

“I think we'll be able to do what we need to do for the offseason as far as free agency goes,” he said.

Washington OLB Shaq Thompson's Versatility Is a Plus

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The Giants historically favor versatile football players who can play multiple positions at a high level.

Versatility is exactly what Reese believes that 6’0”, 228-pound Shaq Thompson of Washington offers.

“He's a good football player. He's versatile,” Jerry Reese said. “He's played a lot of different positions. He's played linebacker, obviously some safety, [and] he's played some running back. He's a Swiss army knife kind of guy.”

That could be good news for the Giants if they are considering Thompson at No. 9. New York is in need of an outside linebacker on the weak side—as well as a safety.

Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout opines that Thompson probably projects to safety at the next level.

However, many teams have adopted the practice of bringing an extra safety down in the box as part of a three-safety package, and it’s possible that Thompson’s ability to play linebacker just might make him too good to pass up if he’s there at No. 9.

If Thompson is being viewed as a safety, a position that Brugler noted Thompson hasn’t played since high school, he’d probably be a project at that spot as an NFL rookie.

The 6-10 Giants, which need to get back to the playoffs, likely can’t afford to spend a top-10 pick on a project, unless they view Thompson as purely an outside linebacker.

Still, with more pressing needs and free agency still ahead, it’s too soon to say if Thompson even ranks that highly in the Giants’ eyes.

Linebacker Jon Beason Is Still in the Plans for Now

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

At his year-end press briefing with reporters, Giants middle linebacker Jon Beason, who spent yet another season on injured reserve, was asked if he believed the organization was viewing the upcoming season as Year 2 of a three-year commitment.

“I would hope so.,” he said. “I have been around long enough to know that it is a business and sometimes you have to address those issues when they come up. So far, we are geared for Year 2 of a three-year contract, and I fully expect to hold up my end of the deal.”

As far as Jerry Reese is concerned, nothing has changed in that regard—yet.

“Jon's under contract, so we'll see where that goes,” he said

The problem is that while Beason, who acts as his own agent, is under contract, per Over the Cap, he’s due to count for $6.691 million in 2015, a figure that includes a $3.6 million base salary (with $900,000 of that guaranteed) and a $1 million roster bonus coming up on March 15 if Beason is still on the roster.

That’s a steep figure for a player who has struggled to stay on the field.

It’s also a figure that the Giants will almost certainly look to rework.

Ryan Nassib Is Developing Nicely

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Reese echoed head coach Tom Coughlin’s sentiment about the development of backup quarterback Ryan Nassib.

“I think Ryan has done a nice job. I think if Eli (Manning) got dinged up in some kind of way during the season, I think he could jump in there and help us win games. [Nassib] prepares himself as if he is going to play, so he has done a nice job.”

Still, it’s hard to forget how, after drafting Nassib in the fourth round in 2013, Reese said he hoped the former Syracuse signal-caller never played.

"If he doesn't ever play, that would be great," Jerry Reese said, per Jim Corbett of USA Today. "That's a good problem to have. If he needs to play, we're hoping that whatever time that is that he'll be up and ready to go."

Is it possible that the Giants brass is trying to generate interest in Nassib with a quarterback-needy team that is facing a thin class of signal-callers this year?

If the team is, Reese isn't saying whether he has received any calls about a trade for Nassib.

“I can't talk about that. That's inappropriate to talk about that,” he said. 

Reese Is Still Cautiously Optimistic Regarding Receiver Victor Cruz

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In each of the last two months, Jerry Reese has expressed cautious optimism regarding the comeback attempt of receiver Victor Cruz from a torn patellar tendon injury.

He did so again during his combine press conference.

“Again, when a guy had a big injury like Victor had, you can't put all your eggs in his basket. Our doctors said he looks good. I see him down in the training room working out with our trainers and doctors. He looks good,” he said.

Then Reese threw out the caution flag.

“Until you get out there and move around, you really never know how he's going to recover from that. We're hoping and praying that he's going to come back 100 percent and be the Victor Cruz that we know. But you can't put 100 percent in that basket.”

Reese’s caution is no different from what the team practiced this time last year as it held its breath wondering whether running back David Wilson could make it back onto the field from a neck injury.

While the Giants waited, they protected themselves by signing Rashad Jennings as a free agent and drafting Andre Williams in the fourth round.

Wilson, of course, didn’t make it back, creating a hole that the Giants are hoping to fill this offseason.

Cruz’s situation is a little different in that athletes have come back from torn patellar tendons—cornerback Zack Bowman did so when he was still at Nebraska. But there is no known instance of an NFL receiver who so heavily relied on stopping, cutting on a dime and performing a variety of moves having returned from such an injury at the same level as before.

That’s why Reese and the Giants aren't leaving anything to chance regarding the receiver position.

“We will try to upgrade that spot as well,” he said.

“If Victor is back and Odell [Beckham Jr.] and Rueben [Randle], that is a pretty good core. There are a couple of other guys, [such as] [Preston] Parker. There are some more names, [Corey] Washington, and there are some young guys. If there is a good receiver, we will draft him.”

The Offensive Line Is Still a Work in Progress

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In news that should surprise absolutely no one, Jerry Reese admitted that there is still work to be done on the offensive line.

“We're going to continue to build our offensive line just like we build every position,” he said. “I think we still have some work to do there.”

The Giants have four out of five starters in place already, but it is just a matter of where they all line up. As noted in this analysis, the ideal configuration would be Will Beatty at left tackle, Justin Pugh at left guard, Weston Richburg at center, Geoff Schwartz at right guard and either a veteran free agent or a first-round draft pick at right tackle.

Reese echoed head coach Tom Coughlin’s sentiments from earlier in the week when he told reporters that Richburg would compete at center. He also confirmed that, due to injuries, the team's second-round draft pick never really got a chance to compete at center as a rookie.

“We had some injuries over there, and we put him in at guard. He'll get a chance to compete for the center job.”

That’s assuming that the offensive line is healthy going into the spring and summer. The only player to keep an eye on in that regard is Schwartz, who suffered a late-season ankle injury that required surgery.

Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media reported that Schwartz was still in a boot and on crutches as recently as the Super Bowl but that he was on track to be ready for training camp.

The question, though, is how much will he be able to do in the spring OTAs and minicamp? Historically, when a player is coming off a significant injury, he’s limited by the team’s medical staff to avoid any setbacks.

It will be interesting to see if that will be the case with Schwartz and, if so, how that would affect the first look at the 2015 offensive line configuration.

Unless otherwise noted, all contract and salary-cap information is via Over the Cap.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.