New York Giants: Sterling Shepard extension sends a message

The New York Giants signing wide receiver Sterling Shepard to an extension is about building the team’s new core and sending a message to his teammates.

It appears the supposed demise of Sterling Shepard’s time with the New York Giants was, in fact, greatly exaggerated. On Wednesday, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Big Blue is on the cusp of finalizing a four-year extension with the 25-year old that could be worth up to $41 million. ESPN’s Adam Schefter added the agreement includes $21.3 million in guaranteed cash.

It’s good business for all involved. Shepard, originally carrying a cap hit of under $2 million for the last year of his rookie contract (per Spotrac) provides himself with some protection in case disaster strikes, such as what happened to Victor Cruz in the fall of 2014.

The Giants, meanwhile, retain the rights to who is, following the trade of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns, the locker room’s most familiar receiver for the foreseeable future without any worry of what could occur if he posted career numbers from September through Week 17 of the upcoming season.

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As with many football-related transactions, Shepard receiving a deserved extension goes beyond mere facts and figures. The Eli Manning target is one of the last men standing from what was hoped to be a core for a championship roster. He won’t be the face of the team’s future foundation — that distinction belongs to running back Saquon Barkley — but general manager Dave Gettleman clearly views Shepard as a locker-room leader and part of the solution rather than the next Jerry Reese product shown the door.

Shepard is a more worthwhile investment than safety Landon Collins was via a new contract or the franchise tag. The former second-round pick hasn’t been called a “pain in the a–” by anybody within the organization as far as we know, nor has he thrown his quarterback under the figurative bus during an ESPN interview.

He isn’t a behind-the-scenes “cancer,” the exact word Collins once used to describe Eli Apple, who the Giants shipped to the New Orleans Saints ahead of the 2018 trade deadline. Intentional or not, this front office clarified the type of players it wants to be associated with the franchise moving forward.

It’s possible this is reading way too much into things, but the Giants investing in Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Josh Rosen, both through draft capital and a future contract extension, seems unlikely as of the second week of April.

Last May, Business Insider’s Scott Davis detailed only some of the hot takes surrounding Rosen and his outspoken personality. Manning has his flaws, no doubt, but he also possesses the cool temperament needed to be the CEO of the offense attached to the Big Apple’s most popular football franchise. Gettleman and company may not see that in Rosen.

While fans and also those examining the Giants can’t help but predict who will be under center for club in 2020, all should remember Gettleman’s vow New York will both build for life without Manning while also attempting to compete this year.

Extending Shepard is steps in both directions. Granted, much can and will happen between now and the time you’re shopping for Halloween candy, but odds are Shepard remains a Giants player through and beyond the halfway point of the campaign. That’s right. You’ll have to save your “we didn’t sign him to trade him” jokes until the next NFL year opens.

Following the controversial Beckham trade, John Fennelly of Giants Wire wrote OBJ’s “star weighed too heavily on the team” and that “there was a 52-and-1 feel to the team” with the dynamic playmaker on the roster.  Shepard’s never been that type of presence, in part because he doesn’t have Beckham’s talent. Few, if any, do. Perhaps the Giants paying Shepard was equally about what he isn’t as it was about what he’s given and will offer to the team’s passing attack.