The New York Giants were an aggressive suitor for former New York Jets guard Alijah Vera-Tucker in NFL free agency. There was even a report on Monday, which obviously turned out to be incorrect, that Vera-Tucker had agreed to terms with the Giants.
Vera-Tucker, a talented but oft-injured player who missed all of last season with the second torn triceps of his NFL career, agreed to join the New England Patriots on a reported three-year, $42 million contract. That’s rich for a player who missed as much time as Vera-Tucker.
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Plan B for the Giants has reportedly been to sign former Cleveland Browns guard Wyatt Teller. Teller remains an excellent run-blocking guard, but has been injured quite a bit the past two seasons and is not the Pro Bowl player he once was.
The Giants apparently want Teller. The question is whether the 31-year-old Teller, a country boy at heart, wants the Giants. He might not.
So, what do the Giants do if that is the case.
As I indicated here, if Teller does not come to New York I have doubts that there is a better player on the free agent market than the guy who has played right guard for the Giants the past two season.
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Yup. That would be 36-year-old Greg Van Roten.
The Giants keep trying to replace Van Roten. Last season he was the only member of the offensive line who faced a challenge for his job. This offseason, the thought has seemed to be get a different starting right guard and bring Van Roten back as a reserve at guard and center.
Still, no other free agent guard on the market — not even Teller — graded as highly as Van Roten in Pro Football and Sport’s Network’s ‘Impact Score.’
Van Roten was PFSN’s 17th-ranked guard last season. Joel Bitonio was 20th, Kevin Zeitler 29th, and Teller 33rd. One thing in Van Roten’s favor is availability. Contrary to what happens with many aging players, Van Roten has missed ONE game in the past five seasons.
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Perhaps the best play will be to do what the Giants did a year ago — bring Van Roten back on a low-cost, one-year deal and run it back with the same offensive line they had in 2025. After all, that was the best-performing line the Giants have had in several seasons.
Granted, that might not be the power run blocking line John Harbaugh would prefer. Still, the last three years of Van Roten’s career, when PFSN has ranked him 15th, 32nd, and 17th among guards, have been the best of an NFL career that began way back in 2012.
Perhaps the best play for the Giants will be to run it back, and use the draft to find a powerful, development guard who could replace Van Roten or Jon Runyan Jr. a year from now.
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