The New York Giants are preparing for a crucial free agency, tasking general manager Joe Schoen with building a proper supporting cast for his next quarterback. Whether it's a veteran pushing off retirement or a rookie hoping to save everyone's jobs, he'll need the best free agency of Schoen's tenure to have a successful 2025 campaign.
There are big swings to take, but an underrated part of New York's offseason will be ensuring its depth and special teams are ready to compete.
Hence, the team re-signed long snapper Casey Kreiter to a one-year deal, locking in a key piece of the special teams operation.
On Saturday, the Giants made two more special teams signings ahead of free agency.
New York re-signed punter Jamie Gillan and tight end Chris Manhertz, both of whom were set to hit unrestricted free agency on Wednesday after the end of the legal tampering period.
Gillan's deal is for three years with an average annual value of $3 million. According to Jordan Raanan, incentives can take that up to $10.2 million and $4 million is guaranteed.
That's a reasonable deal for Gillan, who's been fine by most measures but stands to benefit from continuity across the unit (like keeping Kreiter around). At $9 million, he's tied Dallas Cowboys punter Bryan Anger for the sixth-richest contract at the position. His average annual value is tied with Anger, A.J. Cole, and Logan Cooke for the fourth-best mark among punters (per Over the Cap).
Joining him on next year's team will be Manhertz, who split time between tight end and special teams last season.
Related: Tommy DeVito Back for Third Season With Giants
His production is admittedly meager. Manhertz logged three catches for 30 yards and a score in 2024. However, his role asked him to stay attached to the line and block as the team's second tight end in 12 personnel.
Spending over 90 percent of his offensive snaps as the in-line tight end, he did just that exceptionally well. One can list on a single hand how many players fulfilled their job descriptions better than Manhertz in 2024, and after Malik Nabers and Dexter Lawrence, it's awfully hard not to list the veteran tight end entering his age-33 season.
Details on Manhertz's deal aren't yet public, but it likely won't be much more than the league minimum. That shouldn't detract from how good of a job he's done in New York, and how safe a bet he is to provide that same value in 2025.
Related: Long-Term Long Snapper: Giants Re-Sign Special Teams Captain
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This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 9:45 PM.