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He’s a good Solder.
Giants offensive tackle Nate Solder agreed to a restructured contract on Saturday, according to NFL Network, and is expected to join the team after being absent last season as a high-risk opt-out under COVID-19 protocols.
The Giants couldn’t afford to keep the 33-year-old Solder at his salary cap of $ 16.5 million, given the constraints on their budget to move into free agency and his uncertain role and its performance level in the future.
Details of Solder’s new deal are not known, but the intention was to cut finances, so it would be about the same cost to keep the veteran as it was to cut him. If the Giants cut Solder before June 1 or if he retired – the way things seemed to be going ahead of the last two weeks of internal talks – the $ 62million former free agent would have cost $ 10.5million of dollars against the cap and would have freed up just $ 6 million.
Solder allowed the third-highest number of sacks (11) in the NFL in 2019, but it was true that he struggled with injuries and grueling headspace as his son underwent mid-season surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. First-round rookie pick Andrew Thomas replaced Solder as the starting left tackle last season, and the Giants would do well not to spoil Thomas’ development after finding a delayed end-of-season groove.
In that case, Solder will be competing with Matt Peart – a third-round pick who made a start and played in other games off the bench as a rookie – on the right tackle. The loser of the competition would likely become the swing tackle and strike a need for a free agent from the Giants’ long list.
Solder made 13 straight tackle starts for the Patriots as a rookie in 2011, but crossed the line for the next 114 starts of his career. He was a part of the Giants’ virtual OTAs last season, but his relationship with coach Joe Judge dates back to their shared years in New England, and Judge places a high priority on getting to know the character intimately entering the locker room.
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