NFL.com Names This Pending Free Agent as Ideal Fit for Giants

The Giants need offensive line help badly, so why not start there when picking an ideal free agent for Big Blue?

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Mar 4, 2022 8:00 AM EST

In this story:

The New York Giants are working feverishly to fix their 2022 salary cap to comply with the league’s $208.2 million salary cap while also giving themselves enough breathing space to add select veterans via free agency.

And one position group where the Giants are expected to add via free agency, the offensive line, just so happens to be the unit where NFL.com’s Nick Shook has what appears to be a cost-effective fit for the team.

That would be Ravens interior offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman, who started all 17 games for Baltimore at center last season after having started all of 2020 at left guard.

Notes Shook of his recommendation for the Giants:

The Giants will likely be forced to part ways with one or more players to get under the cap, so we're looking toward some lesser-known names to provide help. Much of New York's offensive line is unsettled, but adding Bozeman at center would at least fill one need at an important spot responsible for directing protection of Daniel Jones.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who disagrees that the Giants offensive line is in a state of flux following a disappointing 2021 season that was wrecked in part by lack of forward progress (Matt Peart, Will Hernandez) and injuries (Nick Gates, Shane Lemieux).

The Giants didn’t help themselves either in failing to add younger talent to develop for the future.

Thus comes Shook’s suggestion that the team look to add a veteran center like the 6-foot-5, 317-pound Bozeman, who can help Daniel Jones out with things such as protection calls.

Bozeman has contributed to a rushing attack that has topped 100 rushing yards in 43-consecutive games, tying them with the Steelers (1974-1977) for the second-longest streak of its kind in NFL history.

According to Pro Football Focus, Bozeman posted a career-best 98.2 pass-blocking efficiency rating last season after moving to center. Bozeman, an overachiever, entered the league as a sixth-round pick in 2015 out of Alabama.

Bozeman finished as PFF's third-best center (out of 12) last year among those who took 80 percent or more of their team's snaps, and the Ravens’ 2020 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year seems all but certain to move on from Baltimore.

Bozeman, who is coming off a four-year rookie deal worth $2,578,408, has a projected market value of $9.9 million per year, according to Spotrac. While that might sound a bit too rich for the cap-strapped Giants, New York is expected to allocate its resources to cover its top priorities.

And can anyone argue against the offensive line being anything besides the top priority to get fixed?