Olivier Vernon To Sign With New York Giants

With the transition tag voided by the Miami Dolphins after signing Mario Williams, Olivier Vernon officially became an unrestricted free agent.  To the surprise of few, it took very little time for teams to scramble at scooping him up.

According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, the New York Giants will be signing Olivier Vernon to a record $85 million dollar contract that allows $52.5 in guaranteed money to be earned over five years.

Vernon is coming off an exceptional year in which he had seven and a half sacks and 41 tackles for Miami.

Here is an overview of the player they’re getting from NFL Mocks Editor Sayre Bedinger.

"Vernon has become one of the best young edge defenders in the NFL since being drafted out of Miami four years ago. He hasn’t missed a game in his four years with Miami, and is set to become the cornerstone piece of a defensive line. The Dolphins had originally placed the transition tag on him, and for good reason, but removed it after they signed Mario Williams. Over the last two seasons, Vernon has 14 sacks and two forced fumbles. He’s an incredibly disruptive player and has the look of a star for a long time in this league."

The Giants also brought back Jason Pierre-Paul on a short term “prove it” deal.

The Dolphins have now stacked their defensive side of the depth chart following free agency moves and a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. They acquired Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso in exchange for a swap of first round picks with Philadelphia. They did however lose running back Lamar Miller to the Houston Texans.

The Giants under new head coach Ben McAdoo will certainly have some flashy new pieces on defense. They also signed Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins to new contracts. If they can add some pieces to their offense, the Giants could certainly be back in the NFC East discussion.