The New York Giants added some veteran stability into a wildly inconsistent secondary ahead of the 2025 season, but the franchise has a difficult and potentially expensive contract decision to make on one of its homegrown cornerbacks.
Cor’Dale Flott, originally chosen by the Giants in the third-round of the 2022 NFL Draft, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is fighting for a starting job this summer alongside Deonte Banks.
How the coaching staff views Flott will likely go a long way towards understanding how general manager Joe Schoen and the Giants front office think the 23-year-old fits into the franchise’s future.
Over at Bleacher Report, analyst Mo Moten put together a list of each team’s most important contract decision, including Flott for the Giants.
“In the spring, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan noticed that Flott split first-team reps with 2023 first-rounder Deonte Banks,” Moten writes of Flott, for B/R. “And that trend continued at training camp.
“In 2023, Flott lined up primarily in the slot and then shifted to the outside last season. If he beats out Banks for the starting boundary position, he could earn a hefty pay raise with a strong showing through the first half of the season.”
Through his first three seasons, Flott, 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, has produced 115 total tackles with two interceptions, 14 pass breakups, and two forced fumbles in 39 games.
If Flott can fight off Banks for a starting job on the perimeter, the Giants may need to allocate significant resources and cap space to keep him in East Rutherford beyond this season.
The Jets paying Michael Carter $30.75 million over four seasons or the Packers inking Nate Hobbs to a $48 million contract could be the ballpark that Flott would hope to play in in negotiations with the Giants this offseason if he turns in a stellar 2025 campaign.
James Franklin Reveals Why He Believes Abdul Carter Will Be Elite
Dan Mullan | GettyThe New York Giants have big plans to make Abdul Carter the centerpiece of the defense.
The centerpiece of the Giants’ offseason defensive revamp is No. 3 overall pick, rookie edge rusher Abdul Carter.
Carter has flashed all the traits of being a game-wrecker during a strong spring’s worth of OTA and minicamp practices and a disruptive start to training camp this summer.
Penn State head coach James Franklin believes the former Nittany Lions’ All-American turned top Giants pick has the traits to be elite.
“Abdul Carter will be an elite NFL defensive end because of his explosive first step, disruptive instincts and relentless pursuit,” Penn State head coach James Franklin tells me. “He brings controlled chaos off the edge that offenses fear.”
Franklin saw Carter’s impact first hand.
In Carter’s final season in Happy Valley, he lobbied to move from linebacker to the edge, before posting a career-high 12 sacks and 24 tackles for loss as a driving force behind Penn State’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The Giants are betting that pairing Carter alongside Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux will create havoc in opposing backfields and make it easier on cornerbacks to make players in the secondary because the disruptive effect the pass rush will have on quarterbacks’ timing in the pocket, not to mention making drive-stopping sacks.
“His ceiling in the NFL is sky-high as a game-wrecker with All-Pro upside,” Franklin says. “He’s very driven, very focused.”
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