New York Giants
The Giants are selling 10 percent of the team. The player for whom the number 10 had been retired was interested in making a purchase.
Now? Not.
“Basically, it’s too expensive for me,” Eli Manning told CNBC Sport. “These numbers are getting very big. . . . A one-percent stake of something valued at $10 billion — it turns into a very big number.”
Eli also pointed out that the purchase would create “a lot of conflicts” with other things he does, including his broadcasting gig at ESPN.
His nemesis, Tom Brady, could have helped Eli navigate those conflicts. (Of course, Brady just ignores them.)
Speaking of Brady, the fact that the Giants wouldn’t give a two-time Super Bowl winner a sweetheart deal underscores the cool-friend discount Brady got from Raiders owner Mark Davis. Brady bought his piece of a team he never played for at an embarrassingly low $3.5 billion valuation — roughly a third of the number Eli floated.
The Giants will report to training camp on July 22 and fans won’t have to wait long for a chance to see them on the practice field.
The team announced that they will hold their first open practice of camp on July 23. It will be the first of 11 open practices for a team trying to climb out of the cellar in the NFC East.
Fans will also be welcomed at the team’s facility to watch practices on July 24-25, July 27-29, July 31, August 1-2, August 4, and August 13.
The August 13 practice will be a joint session with the Jets. The two teams will also have a workout at the Jets’ facility ahead of their preseason game that week.
Tim Rooney, the nephew of Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. and a long-time executive for the Steelers, Lions, and Giants has died. He was 84.
Via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rooney passed on Tuesday morning, after a short bout with cancer.
A coach at Villanova, Tim Rooney joined the Steelers in 1972, as one of four scouts. The others were Art Rooney Jr., Dick Haley and Bill Nunn. Tim Rooney served as director of pro scouting, where he scouted opponents and evaluated players already in the league.
Per Fittipaldo, Tim Rooney is often credited for the drafting of Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert. It was Tim Rooney who took coach Chuck Noll to watch Lambert play at Kent State.
Tim Rooney stayed with the Steelers through 1979, the last of their four Super Bowl-winning seasons of the 1970s.
After spending time with the Lions, the Giants hired Tim Rooney in 1985 as director of pro personnel. He stayed in that role until 1999, before later returning in a part-time capacity. Which means he won at least six Super Bowl rings during his NFL career.
“He was a great guy,” Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells said of Tim Rooney, via Fittipaldo. “When you’re a head coach, you need someone to tell you the truth. Tim was our pro personnel guy, and that was his job. We had daily interaction every day talking about the roster. We had a lot of talks and became close. That enhanced our relationship. He understood me, and I understood him.”
We extend our condolences to Tim Rooney’s family, friends, and colleagues.
The ever-changing cast of Good Morning Football has undergone another change.
Via AwfulAnnouncing.com, former NFL defensive back Will Blackmon has joined the cast for the upcoming season.
A fourth-round pick from Boston College in 2006, Blackmon spent four years with the Packers, two with the Giants, two with the Jaguars, and two with the Commanders. He last played in the NFL in 2016.
Blackmon, who also returned punts and kickoffs during his time in the NFL, was a member of the Super Bowl XLVI champion Giants.
He had served on a rotating cast of contributors following the departure of Akbar Gbaja-Biamila after one season. Blackmon did enough to get the full-time gig.
The show has been in a state of flux for most of the past year, with a surprising move of the production from New York to Los Angeles (and a 5:00 a.m. local start time) and the departure of multiple members of the cast, including Jason McCourty and Peter Schrager.
Next July, MetLife Stadium will be hosting the FIFA World Cup final match. In the opinion of Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač, the venue is more suited to hosting the PGA Championship.
“It’s more a golf green, so you can putt here,” Kovač said after a 3-2 loss to Real Madrid in the Club World Cup, via Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. “It’s very short. But this is not the grass we are used to playing on in the Bundesliga and also in the other two stadiums.”
Kovač is referring to matches played by Dortmund at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati and at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“As you saw, the watering wasn’t good enough, I would say, because you don’t have the devices for that.” Kovač said. “When it’s too dry, it’s unbelievable. It’s sticking.”
Kovač also commented on the heat of the outdoor matches. When the most recent match at MetLife Stadium started, it was 86 degrees.
The FIFA World Cup final is reportedly expected to start at 3:00 p.m. ET on July 19. Which means it could be very hot for the most important match in the sport.
Tight end Theo Johnson didn’t make the same kind of instant impact on the Giants offense as fellow 2024 draft picks Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy, but he was showing signs of that kind of production as the year went on.
Johnson had three catches for 37 yards in the first four games of the year, but caught 26 balls for 293 yards and a touchdown in the next eight weeks. Any hopes of continuing to build on that hit a wall when Johnson suffered a foot injury that required him to have season-ending surgery.
Johnson is healthy now and said on the Giants Huddle podcast that he feels a “huge difference” in how prepared he is for the NFL game now. He also said he wants to try to pick up where he left off because he was finding his place in the offense ahead of the injury.
“I felt it coming on the more comfortable I got,” Johnson said. “Just feeling what it’s like to be in my groove, now having an idea like I’ve got this many games under my belt, this is what it’s gotta look like. Just as it was like I could really finish on a high note this year, the injury happened, which was super discouraging. But encouraging at the same time, because it was like, now I know I’m going to have a full offseason to kind of prepare and figure things out. I definitely felt like I was catching on at the right time. Unfortunately, the injury kind of put a hold on that.”
It remains an open question as to whether the Giants have found the right answer at quarterback, but having Johnson join Nabers and Tracy as a consistent producer would only help the chances that Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, or Jaxson Dart can provide the upgrade the team needs at that spot.
We’ve recently taken a look at the coaches on the hot seat for 2025. This week, a reader asked the same question as it relates to quarterbacks.
Plenty of them are feeling the heat, or should be, this season. Let’s take a look at each spot, based on the loose arrangement of the conferences and divisions that has been tattooed onto my brain.
Justin Fields, Jets: His contract has $10 million in guarantees that spill into 2026. That’s not enough to guarantee him two years as the starter. He needs to do enough in 2025 to earn 2026 — and beyond.
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins: His contract guarantees his pay through 2026. If the Dolphins fall flat and change coaches, the next coach likely will want a fresh start at quarterback. While the cap charges will complicate a split before 2027, every high-end quarterback contract eventually leads to a big cap charge when the relationship ends. The next coach (and the next G.M., if owner Stephen Ross cleans house) may want to rip the Band-Aid off in one motion.
Aaron Rodgers, Steelers: He says he’s pretty sure this is his last year. If he doesn’t play well enough for the Steelers in 2025 and if he wants to keep playing in 2026, the Steelers may give him the same cold shoulder that Russell Wilson got after 2024.
All Browns quarterbacks: With Jacksonville’s first-round pick in their back pocket, the Browns could be in position to get a future franchise quarterback in next year’s draft. That raises the stakes for every quarterback currently on the Cleveland roster. Because there’s a chance none of them will be the starter in 2026.
Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, Colts: It already feels like Jones will be the Week 1 starter. He’ll then have a chance to lock the revolving door the Colts have had since Andrew Luck retired. If he doesn’t, the Colts will be looking elsewhere in 2026. As to Richardson, his best play is to play better than he ever has, if and when he gets the chance.
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars: Every new coach wants his own quarterback, except when the coach inherits a true franchise quarterback. But Tony Dungy landing with Peyton Manning doesn’t happen very often. And it’s not clear whether Lawrence is a short-list franchise quarterback. He was on track to be one as of 2022. The past two years haven’t been good enough, long-term contract notwithstanding. What do coach Liam Coen and G.M. James Gladstone want? If Lawrence doesn’t play better in 2025 than he did in 2024, Lawrence and everyone else may find out in 2026.
Geno Smith, Raiders: He’s being mentioned simply to say he’s not on the hot seat. He has $18.5 million in guarantees for 2026, and his close ties to Pete Carroll will keep Smith around for at least two years. (Unless, of course, a certain minority owner decides otherwise.)
Dak Prescott, Cowboys: He’s probably not on the hot seat, because his $60 million per year contract would wreak havoc on the salary cap if the Cowboys were to cut or trade him (yes, he has a no-trade clause, but he can waive it) in 2026. The complication for the Cowboys is that his $45 million salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year. They’re basically stuck — all because they waited too long to give him his second contract, and then waited too long to give him his third contract.
Russell Wilson, Giants: If he’s the Week 1 starter (if Jaxson Dart lives up to his first-round draft stock, Wilson shouldn’t be), the clock will be ticking. Immediately. In 2004, the Giants benched Kurt Warner after nine games for Eli Manning, even though the Giants were 5-4 at the time. When Dart is ready, Dart will play. Even if Wilson makes it through 2025 without getting benched, he’ll have to do plenty to keep Dart on the sideline for 2026.
Jordan Love, Packers: He’s not on the hot seat per se, but he needs to play better in 2025 than he did in 2024. If not, he will be on the hot seat in 2026. The wild card in Green Bay is new CEO Ed Policy, who operates as the de facto owner of the team.
J.J. McCarthy, Vikings: He’s getting his shot to play, after a knee injury wiped out his rookie season. Anything other than an outright disaster will ensure his status for 2026. At worst, he’d have to compete with a more established veteran next year.
Tyler Shough, Saints: He’ll need to do enough in 2025 to earn the chance to do well enough in 2026 to get the Saints to not pursue the grandson of Archie Manning in 2027. (And, yes, I think Arch Manning will spend two years as a college starter before entering the draft.)
Bryce Young, Panthers: In year three, he needs to continue the growth he showed late in the 2024 season, in order to secure a fourth season, the fifth-year option, and ideally (for him) a second contract.
Kyler Murray, Cardinals: His contract gives him two more years of financial security. But this is the team that drafted Murray a year after using the 10th overall pick on Josh Rosen (not Lamar Jackson). So who knows what the Cardinals will do if Murray doesn’t propel the team into contention this year?
Sam Darnold, Seahawks: He has a one-year deal, as a practical matter. And the Seahawks seem to really like rookie Jalen Milroe. Darnold will need to play very well to secure his status for 2026.
Matthew Stafford, Rams: It’s not the “hot seat” as much as it’s a mutual understanding that player and team are taking things one year at a time. After the season, both sides will have to recommit. Whether the Rams will want to do that depends on how Stafford plays in 2025, and on their other options for staffing the position in 2026.
That’s a lot of names. But it’s no surprise. There aren’t many true, unquestioned, year-after-year franchise quarterbacks. And the teams that don’t have one are always hoping to find one.
It has created more quarterback movement in recent years than ever before. Plenty of the names listed above will be on the move in 2026.
Ten years ago today, a fireworks mishap changed the life of Jason Pierre-Paul. He lost 2.5 fingers, and his football career was in jeopardy.
He returned to play, and to play well. Now, after a season out of football, he hopes to continue his career in the NFL. More specifically, he wants to play for the Giants again.
“I think that’ll be dope,” Pierre-Paul recently told Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. “Tremendous. To go back somewhere where my career started . . . the fans know me and know the type of player that I am. I’ll always be that type of player and just give them everything I got, which I know it’ll be more than enough.”
Although he played nine seasons after the injury (winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2020, to go with the one he won with the Giants in 2011), Pierre-Paul wonders about what might have been.
He has 94.5 career sacks. But for the injury, he surely would have cracked triple digits. And made more money. And earned more accolades.
Pierre-Paul now spends time warning others about playing with fireworks.
“My message to kids is you never know how life is going to go,” Pierre-Paul told Raanan. “Don’t put yourself in a predicament that you’re going to regret later.”
He also realizes that, despite having only 7.5 fingers, he’s still alive. Which fuels him.
“You get another chance of it every day,” Pierre-Paul said. “So why not be great at what you got going on?”
He’s right. Whatever it is, get the most out of it. And take reasonable steps to protect your ability to do so.
Especially today. Avoid the fireworks. If you must indulge in them, light the fuse and get away. And do not mix alcohol and fireworks. Ever.
The temporary thrill is hardly worth a permanent injury. Or worse. Every year, there’s an inevitable news story of someone who was alive on the afternoon of July 4 being dead by the morning of July 5 — specifically because of fireworks.
After trading Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh on Monday, Miami has taken an unexpected route to find a new tight end.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Dolphins are trading for Darren Waller, who is coming out of a one-year retirement to play again.
The Dolphins are sending a 2026 sixth-round pick and a 2027 conditional seventh-round pick to the Giants to complete the deal. While Waller did not play in 2024, New York still had his rights.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Waller will receive a one-year contract worth up to $5 million with Miami.
Waller, who turns 33 in September, broke through with the Raiders in 2019 when he caught 90 passes for 1,145 yards with three touchdowns. He followed that with a 107-catch, 1,196-yard season with the Raiders in 2020, also catching nine TDs.
But Waller had to battle through injuries in 2021 and 2022 with Las Vegas before he was traded to the Giants in 2023. He played just 12 games for New York that season, catching 52 passes for 552 yards with one touchdown before electing to retire last offseason.
Now Waller will join Pharaoh Brown, Tanner Conner, Jalin Conyers, Julian Hill, and Hayden Rucci at tight end on the Dolphins’ roster.
The Giants get plenty of criticism for allowing running back Saquon Barkley to become a free agent in 2024. They weren’t alone in their decision not to make him part of the team moving forward.
Two of their top rivals never even called Barkley.
“Never heard a word from the Commanders or Dallas,” Barkley told someone who is apparently known as Janky Rondo (lay off me, I’m old) at a recent celebrity softball game. “That’s why it’s BTA when I see them.”
The Commanders weren’t in position to make a run at an elite running back. The Cowboys were, especially with Tony Pollard leaving in free agency for the Titans.
Dallas rightfully was criticized at the time for not showing interest in former Titans running back Derrick Henry, who was interested in playing for the Cowboys. Dallas didn’t catch much flak for not pursuing Saquon.
There’s no guarantee it would have worked nearly as well for Saquon in Dallas as it has in Philadelphia. And he definitely wouldn’t have had the kind of individual and team success with the Giants that he had with the Eagles.
The Eagles were the perfect team to pursue him. They had everything else. His arrival provided a potent layer of icing on an award-winning cake.
So he should be glad that it wasn’t a difficult decision, with perhaps a lesser team than the Eagles offering him something significantly more financially. He also should be glad that the Giants let him get away, allowing him to “BTA” when playing the other teams in the NFC East.
And pretty much everyone else.