Damon Harrison agrees to $46.25M deal with Giants, report says
Damon Harrison leads the Jets onto the field for warmups before a game against the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 3, 2013. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
Forty-six million dollars will buy a lot of snacks for Damon Harrison. And just one for the Giants. But that’s the only one they really wanted.
That’s the hefty amount the hefty defensive tackle known as “Snacks” will sign for with the Giants, according to the NFL Network. The five-year, $46.25-million deal with $24 million guaranteed was negotiated during the “legal tampering” portion of free agency and will become official at 4 p.m. Wednesday. A source confirmed the agreement in general.
The addition of Harrison means the Giants will have improved the front and back of their defense in free agency — they also agreed to a five-year deal with cornerback Janoris Jenkins that will become official at 4 p.m. — and also stabilized their pass rush by retaining Jason Pierre-Paul on a one-year deal. All it is costing them is a combined $61.5 million in guaranteed money.
But the Giants have that and more to spend under the salary cap — the guaranteed figures are spread out over the life of the contract — and they have the need to turn their roster over quickly after three straight losing seasons. Unwilling to lose out on talented players they believe will help get them back to the playoffs and improve their ailing defense, they broke from tradition and splurged with abandon.
And they may not be done yet. The Giants could still be in pursuit of Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon and are looking at safeties and offensive linemen in the second wave of the market.
As for Harrison, he comes from the Jets as a prolific run-stopper at 350 pounds. Harrison, 27, will be paired next to Johnathan Hankins in the middle of the Giants’ defensive line. That duo will have Pierre-Paul on one side and likely another pass rusher who is not yet on the team on the other. If the Giants continue spending big and land Vernon, that could create one of the top defensive lines in football.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
