Giants sign Ryan to aid ailing secondary
Just two weeks out from the season opener, the Giants are boosting their ailing secondary with arguably the top player on the free-agent market.
Logan Ryan has agreed to a one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Giants, as first reported Monday afternoon by NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport. Ryan confirmed the news via Twitter.
Ryan, 29, is a Berlin, New Jersey native who attended Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees and starred at Rutgers from 2010-12. The Patriots drafted him in the third round in 2013, and he won two Super Bowls in New England before spending the 2017-19 seasons with the Tennessee Titans.
Ryan has played most of his career as a cornerback, although he informed NFL general managers through his agent in early August that he viewed himself as a safety moving forward. His versatility was on display last season as he played 855 snaps at slot corner, 243 at wide corner, 180 in the box and 22 at free safety, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Giants desperately need help all over the secondary. Cornerback DeAndre Baker is on the commissioner’s exempt list during an ongoing legal case, cornerback Sam Beal opted out of the season because of COVID-19, and secondround pick Xavier McKinney, the projected free safety starter, could miss 8-10 weeks after undergoing surgery on a broken left foot.
Ryan had reportedly been previously seeking a deal worth at least $10 million annually, so the Giants ended up with a bargain.
New York had about $25 million in cap space prior to the signing, with much debate over whether to add veteran reinforcements for potentially a rebuilding season or roll over that money to the 2021 cap, which is expected to go down because of financial effects from COVID-19.
Ryan should be a good fit in his home state while reuniting with Giants head coach Joe Judge, who was Ryan’s special teams coordinator in New England.
“Our focus is developing guys on the roster,” Judge said hours before the Ryan signing. “It’s just a natural part of the National Football League — you have to be aware of the waiver wire and who is available on the street. That is just our jobs, to know who is available so by need we can fill those spots. Our priority is the guys that we work with on a daily basis and making sure we put them in the right position to make plays and then can evaluate them properly.” four Giants quarterbacks. He also feels he’s received an invaluable education from the Giants’ defense, which has been mixing and matching various fronts.
“I think mentally I’m thinking about so much, I don’t really think about the physical part and the technique part and snapping the ball,” Gates said. “It’s kind of nice just to be able to go out there and think and try to do the play, and then by the time I give the calls out and everything, I’m just ready to go and I don’t have to think about it too much.”