It was already going to be a make-or-break season for the New York Giants. Not just for the players, but the coach, general manager, and front office were on notice that the poor results of 2013 and 2014 meant that 2015 had to see a rebound in their fortunes. The Giants buckled down and were aggressive in the draft and free agency to try and end up back on top of the NFC East. The wisdom of these moves are yet to be seen, but the Giants received what superficially would appear to be a big blow this week in the form of Will Beatty’s torn pec.
On the surface, this looks like a devastating blow. Beatty had started the majority of their games at left tackle over the last four seasons and has become a perfectly functional left tackle to protect Eli Manning's blind side over that time period. However, that’s all he is: a functional left tackle. He had a nice run from 2009-2012 where, when he played, was a quality left tackle that gave up only eight sacks in 16 combined starts. That run of good play started to fall apart at the same time in his career that many players' play starts to fall apart: when they get their big contract in free agency or to keep him out of free agency. The Giants gave him $12 million up front and an average annual cap hit of $7.5 million until 2017.
Since he put pen to that paper, his play has been in a noticeable decline. Beatty gave up 15 sacks and had 12 holding penalties given up in 2013 and 2014 combined. In the run game, the Giants were 22nd in the league in 2014 running behind Beatty. These are the stats of a mediocre offensive lineman. More concisely, the stats of an offensive lineman who can be easily replaced. This author has been identifying “replacing Will Beatty” the Giants’ top priority for two offseasons now. Now the Giants have that chance.
So, when will he come back? The book on torn pecs suggests that the earliest that Beatty could come back would be five to six months -- probably closer to six months. The Giants’ bye week comes in the middle of November, so if they want to insert Beatty back into the lineup, November 29 against the Redskins seems like a likely game to do it. This late in the season, the Giants are in a bit of a bind: if the Giants are doing well in late november despite Beatty’s injury, head coach Tom Coughlin will be tempted not to mess with success and move Beatty somewhere else on the line.
If the Giants are struggling and have no shot at the division title(or the playoffs), the pressure might be there to play the younger players in case Coughlin et. al. return in 2016. The pressure to put Beatty back in the starting lineup probably will be a thin needle to thread: where the Giants are in the hunt for a playoff spot, but Beatty’s replacement isn’t good enough to be a major reason for their success. Also factoring into Coughlin’s potential decision making is a financial one: the Giants will need cap room to retain Jason Pierre-Paul, Larry Donnell, Prince Amukamara, Eli Manning, and any number of their 35 impending free agents. Beatty can be traded/released for $4 million in cap savings in 2016 and over $9 million in savings for 2017.
The biggest question, at least for the Giants and their fans isn’t about such abstract thoughts as are discussed above but who replaces Beatty until November(or beyond)? Based on the lineups at the ongoing OTAs, it appears that rookie top 10 pick Ereck Flowers will get first shot at replacing Beatty. Behind him, it gets pretty thin. Marshall Newhouse, who never really could break into the Green Bay Packers’ starting lineup with any consistency, was signed in April, and the Giants are still trying to figure out what they’ll ever get from Justin Pugh. They’re currently sniffing around veteran left tackles such as Jake Long (who was brought in for a visit). And there is the massive free agent bust Anthony Collins, who’s still unemployed after being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants will make a decision sooner, rather than later, on whether to sign a veteran to shore up their line. If there is another left tackle who goes down during training camp, then their prices will dramatically rise. And they should know if Flowers is close to being ready to handle the left tackle spot very soon.