The New York Giants are letting All-Pro safety Landon Collins, one of the best at his position in the entire NFL, walk.
Tuesday provided general manager Dave Gettleman with one final chance to franchise tag the 25-year-old, which would have cost $11.2 million. He opted not to use it, meaning Collins will become a free agent on Mar. 14.
“I want to thank the Giants organization for believing in me and allowing me to have four great years in New York,” Collins wrote on Twitter. “I can’t express ho great it was to play with my teammates and in one of the greatest cities in the world. I will forever cherish my time in the blue and white and the relationships I have built in the community and in the building. Now on to the next chapter…”
Collins’ future with the Giants has been in serious doubt ever since the end of February when he cleaned out his locker at team facilities and said goodbye to his teammates, per ESPN’s Josina Anderson.
It was the first indication — and a damning one — that the Giants were not going to re-sign Collins. However, there was hope that the organization would at least franchise tag him.
It didn’t last long.
Multiple reports over the weekend and into this week only cemented the notion that Collins wasn’t returning, as it was deemed unlikely for Gettleman to exercise the franchise tag on him.
Tuesday only confirmed it.
It’s a puzzling decision by Gettleman to let such a talent go. Collins has yet to reach his full potential in the NFL and has still been named to three Pro Bowls in his first four professional seasons. In 59 career games, he’s amassed 428 combined tackles with eight interceptions and three forced fumbles.
The general manager’s unwillingness to pay the rising star falls under further scrutiny when fully examining the salary cap situation.
As it stands, the Giants have $27 million in cap space this offseason, which will probably be spent on upgrading the offensive line and securing their draft picks. That apparently outranks keeping one of the best safeties in football.
What makes this decision worse is that Gettleman is choosing to hold on to 38-year-old veteran quarterback Eli Manning, who carries a $23 million cap hit in 2019, instead.
The Giants are on the verge of drafting their next franchise quarterback with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft this spring, which means Manning is going to be an incredibly expensive one-year teacher.
Sure, he deserves a hero’s departure considering he’s one of the best quarterbacks in franchise history. But stimying the growth of the organization to retain a quarterback who — to frankly put it — doesn’t fit the Giants’ offensive scheme, is lunacy.
If you ask 10,000 Giants fans who they would rather take, I think at least 90-percent of them would choose retaining Collins over Manning.
This isn’t going to help Gettleman’s case in the Meadowlands, which could turn into a jungle real quick if he can’t start moving this team out of the NFL’s cellar.
