Logan Ryan applauds Giants' free-agency additions, desire to win
Logan Ryan on Giants' free-agency additions: All smiles. Credit: Getty Images/Greg Fiume
Logan Ryan said he likes the players that the Giants have added in free agency so far.
More than that, he likes the message the signings deliver.
"You obviously are telling the fans and the locker room that our upper management is trying to win, they’re trying to pay to bring in talented players," Ryan, the Giants safety, said on SiriusXM’s NFL Radio on Thursday. "That’s a sign of ‘Hey. we’re being aggressive, we want to put a winning product on the field, and we’re willing to get the players to go ahead and do that.
"It’s always a good sign when you see your team is trying to win."
The list of additions includes wide receiver Kenny Golladay, tight end Kyle Rudolph, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and the return of defensive lineman Leonard Williams. In total the Giants have doled out more than $110 million in guaranteed money in the contracts they have forged.
The Giants are about a month away from returning for the start of their offseason program and when they do they will be a very different team than the one that finished 2020 with just six wins, wiping away tears over missing the playoffs in the final game of the regular season. Expectations will be high.
Ryan said he is fine with that.
"Every guy should be coming back and the fans should be coming back knowing we have an extremely confident team and we have a lot of talent," Ryan said. "The team wants to win and guys are willing to put the work in to do that. It’s going to take time and take some practice and some jelling, but we’re willing to put that effort in though and see how good we can be and see how many wins that adds up to."
Ryan, of course, has not been just a bystander in the roster-building. Earlier this week he was instrumental in bringing Jackson, the cornerback with whom he played as a member of the Titans, to the Giants’ secondary. Ryan downplayed how influential he was in the process ("That offer was pretty influential," he said of the three-year, $39 million deal, "that money will never steer you wrong") but Jackson made it clear after he signed that Ryan played a large role in his decision.
"With a few margaritas in me I just tried to be the bridge to let him know that he’ll be needed and we want him and I’d love to play with him again," Ryan said of the dinner he and Jackson shared on Sunday in the middle of his visit with the team. "Obviously he’s an ultra-talented elite cornerback, but I know how to play together with him. I love great players but you also have to play together and sacrifice for one another and we’ve been doing that for years."
Ryan wasn’t just playing matchmaker to one side, though. He said he spoke as highly of Jackson to the Giants as he did of the Giants to Jackson.
"I think I have a good enough relationship, being nine years in NFL, having two Super Bowls, kind of toughing out a lot of seasons here, that I’ve earned enough respect to call Joe [Judge] or have Joe call me and when they ask my opinion on a player I’ll give an honest one," Ryan said. "Especially in Adoree’s case I vouched for him because I know the talent he has and I know how much football he has left in him and I know how much he cares and wants to be a football player."
What can someone like Ryan tell a team that they don’t already know?
"Sometimes teams and scouts can say these things about you, scouts can say ‘Logan Ryan doesn’t run a 4.3 and he doesn’t jump 42 inches,’" Ryan said. "But it takes your peers to know your heart, it takes your peers to know your competitiveness, it takes your peers to know how much film you are watching… I know all those things about the players I have played with and been in the locker room and built these bonds with. I know what Adoree’ Jackson is willing to do to be great and how to pull that out of him."
Ryan could have walked away from the Giants after his one year with them. Instead he signed his own extension in December – a few weeks too early to be lumped in with this offseason’s slew of moves – because, he said, he believed in what the organization was building.
Now, as the opening wave of the offseason begins to settle, his faith is being rewarded.
"It’s been a pretty fun free agency for me and my team," he said.
A busy one filled with signings and signs.
Notes & quotes: Joe Judge, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and director of college scouting Chris Pettit all attended Penn State’s pro day on Thursday for a chance to see, among others, linebacker Micah Parsons, considered by many to be the top linebacker in the upcoming draft. An All-American in 2019, Parson opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns but figures to be near the top of the Giants’ board as they mull; how best to use the 11th pick in the draft next month. On Thursday Parsons wowed scouts with a 4.39 40-yard dash while weighing in at 246 pounds. Pro day times are generally a little faster than those at the Combine, but for comparison, Saquon Barkley ran a 4.40 at 233 pounds when he performed for teams in Indianapolis in 2018 … The Giants signed offensive lineman Zach Fulton, giving them a veteran option at right guard. Fulton, 29, started 44 games at right guard over the past three seasons for the Texans, including all 16 contests in 2019. He’s also played left guard and center since entering the NFL with Kansas City in 2014.
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.
