The problem is there aren’t expected to be many – if any – good ones available. The view around the league seems to be there just aren’t enough good linemen to go around.
“Everybody seems to have a depth problem on the line,” said one NFL personnel executive. “If a guy has any ability, he’s not getting cut. And if someone decent does end up on the wire, half the league will put in a claim.”
And as for trade possibilities, that usually involves either a salary dump – which the Giants likely can’t afford under the salary cap – or a swap of players who are spare parts or just bad fits. That’s what happened Monday when the Giants sent defensive lineman B.J. Hill, an odd-man out in their D-line rotation, to the Bengals for Price, a center and guard.
Price, 26, is a former first-round pick, selected 21st overall by the Bengals back in 2018. But he never came close to living up to that status, starting just 19 games in his three NFL years. He is a depth player, taking the place of veterans Zach Fulton and Joe Looney, both of whom retired on the Giants just a few days into training camp.
The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Price could either join veterans Kenny Wiggins and Ted Larsen on the Giants’ depth chart, or push one or both of them out when the Giants trim their roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Neither have been particularly impressive this summer. And Larsen left the Giants’ preseason finale against the Patriots with an injured knee.
Depth players like Price are good to have, of course – particularly since the status of starting left guard Shane Lemieux (knee) isn’t completely clear. But Price isn’t a fix for what really ails the Giants – the issues on their starting unit. They were particularly bad against the Patriots, especially at the tackle spots where left tackle Andrew Thomas was repeatedly beaten and where right tackles Nate Solder and Matt Peart took turns making mistakes.
If a starting-caliber linemen were to be available, it seems likely the Giants would jump on him.
“But there’s no chance of that,” said one NFL source. “No chance at all.”
That leaves the Giants to juggle their depth chart behind the presumed starting five of Thomas, Lemieux (if he’s health), center Nick Gates, right guard Will Hernandez and Solder or Peart. Depending on their overall injury situation, the Giants could keep as many as nine or 10 on their final, 53-man roster. That could leave Wiggins, Larsen, and veterans Chad Slade and Jonotthan Harrison battling for two or three spots, and then having to sweat out waiver claims over the coming days.
“I’d be shocked if the Giants don’t add another lineman, or maybe two,” the personnel exec said. “But these are guys to fill out the roster. They’re not going to find real immediate help.”
