Tolly tendered
FILE - Dave Tollefson of the Giants sacks JaMarcus Russell in the second half. (October 11, 2009) Credit: David Pokress
Five rounds of the draft were apparently worth a half-million to the Giants.
They placed a second-round tender on DE Dave Tollefson, his agent confirmed, meaning that he’s due to earn $1.684 million in 2010 if he remains with the Giants. The team could have used an original draft pick tender on him (he was a seventh-rounder) and paid him $1.101 million for 2010. But now, the Giants not only have the right to match any offer by a competing team looking to sign Tollefson – and with a weak unrestricted free agent marketplace this season there might have been a few – but they’ll also receive a second-round pick if they let him go.
That’s a little more than half a million bucks to move up from a seventh- to a second-round pick if someone comes knocking.
Of course the second-round tender means they probably won’t be knocking. A second-round pick is a steep price to pay for a guy like Tollefson who has been a solid backup and special teams player for the Giants.
If the Giants have shown anything in the past year, it’s that they are not afraid of big numbers (in terms of contracts or roster spots) when it comes to fortifying their defensive front line. They dumped big money into free agents Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard last year and my guess, given their affinity for the position, is that they’ll at least have a conversation about Julius Peppers before free agency begins next week.
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Two dates and times to keep in mind this weekend: Tom Coughlin will address the media at the Combine on Friday at 12:15 and Jerry Reese will do the same on Saturday at 10 a.m.
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In case you missed them on Giants.com, the team has recently published interviews with Kenny Phillips and Jay Alford, both of whom are coming off knee surgery. Both sounded optimistic about participating in at least a part of the offseason program and getting back to work for training camp.
Speaking of training camp, the Giants won’t be having an extended one. The NFL announced today that the Cowboys and the Bengals will be playing in the Hall of Fame Game to kick off the preseason. Those two teams will report to camp a week earlier than everyone else and will play five preseason games, not four like the rest of the league.
FYI: That Hall of Fame Game will be played on Aug. 8, which is just 175 days away.
(Newsday Photo: David Pokress)
