Should Giants Look at OL Shaq Mason Once He's Released?

The Houston Texans will reportedly release veteran guard Shaq Mason. Would he be a fit for the New York Giants?

Brandon Olsen | Mar 12, 2025

Dec 31, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans guard Shaq Mason (69) in action during the game against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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New York Giants

The New York Giants have checked off quite a few boxes on their veteran free-agent to-do list, but besides not yet having a more experienced veteran quarterback than Tommy DeVito on the roster, a glaring need remains for a potential starting right guard.

Greg Van Roten, last year’s starter, is an unrestricted free agent, and there have been no overtures by the team, at least not yet, to re-sign him. Top veterans such as Trey Smith of the Chiefs (franchised tagged), Will Fries (Colts to Vikings), and Kevin Zeitler (Lions to Titans) are all off the board.

While it’s possible the Giants could be planning on having Evan Neal convert from tackle to guard to fill that spot, another potentially intriguing possibility, assuming reports of his pending release come to fruition, is Texans guard Shaq Mason.

Mason was a fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2015, for whom he played until 2021. This means he would have crossed paths with Giants head coach Brian Daboll and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo.

Mason, who was also teammates with current Giants assistant offensive line coach James Ferentz, was traded to the Bucs in 2022, and then in 2023, the Bucs traded him to the Texans.

Mason’s pending departure from the Texans is due to his salary, which in 2025 was to make him the tenth-highest-paid guard, not corresponding with a drop-off in his play. He allowed eight sacks in 2024, tied for the most allowed by a guard, and 34 pressures overall, tied for 12th-most by a guard.

To be fair, Mason dealt with injuries at the end of the 2024 season but did manage to start the first 15 games of the 2024 season. Although he’s begun to decline and put some bad stretches on film, he could potentially be a nice short-term answer at right guard if a one or two-year contract can be worked out at an APY of around $5.5 million.