The free-agency mismatch that tore apart Julian Love, Giants

There is often a vibe when it comes to an impending free agent, where negotiations might lead and where he might end up.

“It seems he’ll stay,’’ you might say. Or: “I can definitely see him signing elsewhere.’’

Well, “it seems he’ll stay’’ was the feeling around safety Julian Love and his future with the Giants. The player liked the team, and the team liked the player.

Love was one of the most popular and personable individuals at the team facility. His teammates voted him in as one of the captains. The beat writers who cover the team selected Love as the winner of the George Young/Ernie Accorsi Good Guy Award for 2022 for his availability and professionalism in dealing with the media.

Love was on the field for more snaps (1,006) on defense than any other Giants player last season. He led the team in tackles with 124. He was a versatile and selfless performer for defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, lining up wherever he was needed.

When the No. 1 safety, Xavier McKinney, missed seven games after fracturing three fingers in an all-terrain vehicle accident during the bye week, Love took over the defensive play-calling. He gave Martindale and head coach Brian Daboll the security of knowing they could count on him to deliver a quality outing, both physically and mentally.

Love, 25, repeatedly said he wanted to stay. Joe Schoen, the Giants’ general manager, repeatedly said he wanted Love to stay. An offer was made during the bye week, but it was not close to what Love was looking for.

Schoen’s tone changed a bit when he spoke in late February at the NFL combine.

“I think I saw a couple other safeties may be released, so we’ll see what that market looks like and whether there’s gonna be a surplus or not and where his value falls,” Schoen said. “But I love Julian.”

Schoen’s love didn’t translate into financial love for Love. He signed with the Seahawks, receiving a two-year, $12 million contract. Love recently admitted it was tough for him to leave the Giants.

“I had spent four years there, we were building something there, I was captain there, and it was definitely comfortable,’’ Love said during his introduction to Seahawks media. “Like I said, you know all of the people in the building, you know the team, you have had three years of rookies that you have helped grow, so yeah, it was tough, I think, from a people perspective.

“I think for my game, my game was meant to be somewhere else, as simply put as it can be. It was meant to be in Seattle. It was a blessing to have a call from an organization that is winning and I think has their sights on winning in the future.”

The Giants made an offer to Love this offseason, believed to be slightly higher than the bye-week offer, that they believe was worth more money than the deal he signed with the Seahawks. They were a bit taken aback when he moved on.

They saw how the market for safeties tanked, with modest money handed out for starting players at the position.

“It was a funky safety market, unfortunately,’’ Love said.

Plus, the Giants are well-aware that McKinney is entering the final year on his contract, and if he has a big year, he will command a hefty new deal. Love never was going to be the top-earning safety on the team as long as he was working with McKinney.

“I was playing a good brand of football, my stats were really good last year, I was on the field all of the time, I was pretty dependable, I’ve been dependable for the past four years, Love said. “I think I’m a player on the rise and I’m young, so a lot of things were going for me, I felt. Then the market was tough for safeties, that’s just the reality. I wouldn’t have expected it, but it was what it was. When Seattle saw where I was at contract-wise, they jumped at the opportunity to bring me on, which is exciting and it makes you feel like you’re wanted in this process. There were a few teams down at the end, but I think the appeal of Seattle was too great for me to pass on.”

The Giants moved on without actually replacing Love in free agency.

They signed Bobby McCain, a 29-year-old with 87 NFL starts, including 32 starts the past two seasons for the Commanders. McCain, however, was morphing into more of a slot cornerback than a safety in Washington. Given what the Giants paid for him — one year, $1.3 million — McCain cannot be viewed as a plug-and-play starting safety.

The Giants have hopes for returnees Jason Pinnock and Dane Belton, and there is always the NFL Draft to add a safety.

Love did everything right, and he certainly deserved a second contract with the Giants. He will be missed, on the field and off it.

Perhaps his desire to come back was not as strong as the Giants thought it was. Perhaps the Giants’ desire to bring him back was not as strong as Love thought it would be.

Seattle is a long way away, and that is where Love moves on to continue his football life.

Want to catch a game? The Giants schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

Working out west

Consider this an unadvertised special. Daniel Jones likes it that way. No fanfare, no social media posts, no bringing attention to himself for his ability to gather those most important to the Giants’ offensive success for a few days of throwing, catching and building camaraderie.

Jones was out in Arizona last week, continuing an annual rite of pre-spring, gathering his teammates in a warm-weather spot ahead of the start of the voluntary offseason workout program at the Giants facility.

Jones always has been able to recruit the top offensive players to give up several days to hang out and work out together.

Saquon Barkley was there, which is interesting, considering he is not happy with the franchise tag that will pay him $10.1 million and gives him no security beyond the 2023 season. Barkley might not show up for the April 17 start of the offseason program — he has not signed the franchise tender and usually that leads to players staying away — but he thinks so much of Jones that he opted to get a jump on things with a few throwing sessions.

Other players in attendance included Sterling Shepard, Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, David Sills, Collin Johnson, tight ends Daniel Bellinger and Lawrence Cager and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Jones knows how to recruit.

OBJ the Raven

The new Giants regime considered Odell Beckham Jr.’s return. They brought him in late last season for a getting-to-know-you dinner, but Beckham at the time was not healthy enough to work out, coming off a second ACL surgery.

The Giants showed some interest during this year’s free-agency cycle, but quickly assessed that what Beckham wanted to be paid was not in line with what they thought he was worth.

What were the Giants thinking with Beckham?

Well, they re-signed Darius Slayton on a two-year deal worth $12 million, with the potential for the deal to grow to $16.5 million if Slayton reaches certain incentives. That is in line with how the Giants valued Beckham. Of course, Slayton has never come close to the greatness Beckham achieved with the Giants. Slayton, though, is 26 and healthy. Beckham is 30 and a medical risk.

It was easy to scoff when word got out Beckham, who did not play at all in 2022, was looking for a one-year deal worth $20 million. No one was going to give him that.

Beckham came close. He signed a one-year deal with the Ravens for $15 million, with a chance to earn up to $18 million including incentives. It is a hefty payday for Beckham, and kudos for him for waiting out teams until he found one willing to ante up for him.

The Ravens shelling out $15 million in guaranteed money for Beckham, at this stage of his career, will be viewed around the league as excessive. Maybe the Ravens felt they needed to make a splash — adding a lightning rod such as OBJ certainly qualifies — to get in better graces with Lamar Jackson, their disgruntled quarterback.

It remains to be seen whether Beckham can live up to the money.

Asked and answered

Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:

When will the Giants be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks”?

The Giants never have been on “Hard Knocks,’’ the popular series that started in 2001, and they are coming off a good season, meaning interest is high. If you are familiar with Giants ownership, you will not be surprised the organization never has volunteered to be featured. They do not seek that sort of publicity, and would rather go about their training camp behind closed doors.

The Giants will not be on in 2023. Teams are exempt from appearing on “Hard Knocks” if they made the postseason in one of the past two seasons, have a first-year head coach or participated in the show in the past decade. The Giants made the playoffs in 2022, making them exempt. There are four teams eligible to be featured on “Hard Knocks’’ this year: the Jets, Saints, Bears and Commanders.

The Giants start their offseason workout program on April 17. What exactly does that mean?

Attendance is voluntary, with most players “volunteering’’ to participate in all or some portion of the program. Based on the Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are three phases for teams to follow.

Phase One, the first two weeks, is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning and rehab — there is no on-field work. Phase Two, the next two weeks, allows for on-field work with individual or group instruction and drills, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact is permitted. During Phase Three, the final four weeks of the program, teams can conduct a total of 10 organized team activity (OTA) practices. Again, no live contact is allowed, but teams can run 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.