The New York Giants don’t have a large number of key impending free agents in 2025.
If you go by snap count, starting right guard Greg Van Roten would be considered the most important UFA this spring, but most would probably argue that “GVR” is expendable — and could even be upgraded on.
Safety Jason Pinnock and wide receiver Darius Slayton are the two other starters that are set to hit free agency, but another underrated UFA in terms of potential and talent is edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, who was a former second-round pick in 2021.
The Athletic’s NYG beat reporter Dan Duggan gave his thoughts on Ojulari’s 2024 campaign and future outlook on February 3, and he relayed that it’s “hard to envision” Big Blue reuniting with the impact defender in free agency.
“The Giants held onto Ojulari at the trade deadline because they didn’t believe the offers were strong enough for the pass-rushing specialist,” Duggan recapped. “But even a sixth-round pick would have been better than losing him for nothing in free agency.”
“It’s hard to envision a path back to New York,” the beat writer continued. Reasoning: “If Ojulari has a strong market, the Giants will likely get outbid for a player who would play behind [Brian] Burns and [Kayvon] Thibodeaux on the depth chart. If Ojulari has a weak market, it would make more sense for him to sign a prove-it deal with another team that could offer more playing time to boost his value.”
It certainly seems as though Ojulari may have played his final game in New York.
Azeez Ojulari Has Flashed for Giants When Healthy, But He Hasn’t Played a Full Season Since His Rookie Year
Since his rookie season, Ojulari’s main issue has been his availability, or lack thereof.
The second-round pass rusher appeared in 17 games in 2021, posting a career-high 8.0 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss. He came the closest to repeating that level of production in 2024 but fell short due to a ruptured ligament in his big toe.
When all was said and done this year, Ojulari appeared in 11 games, registering 6.0 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss. He flashed as a pass rusher, as Duggan noted, but his full body of work hasn’t been strong enough to justify paying him what he could make on the open market.
Over the past three seasons, Ojulari has only suited up for 29 outings. Based on that track record, whoever ends up committing to the 24-year-old must be willing to take on a considerable amount of risk.
If Giants Lose Azeez Ojulari, They’ll Have to Replace Him in Free Agency, the Draft — or Both
There’s an obvious frustration when it comes to potentially losing Ojulari in free agency, and Duggan mentioned it above. Similar to Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney in 2023, the Giants could have gotten something back for Ojulari at the trade deadline and chose not to.
On top of that, they’ll have to replace the young pass rusher if they lose him in March.
The Giants currently have Burns and Thibodeaux as their starting outside linebackers, but they do not have much depth behind those two.
That means Big Blue can either find their new third edge rusher in free agency — which would probably result in signing a player that is a slight downgrade on Ojulari — or they could choose to draft his successor.
With only Tomon Fox and Patrick Johnson currently left on the roster at the position, perhaps NYG general manager Joe Schoen will take additional precautions by coupling a veteran signing with a new rookie.
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