Free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins has begun shopping himself around, in hopes of creating some leverage.
And now the Giants are using a little of their own, in hopes of keeping him.
According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, the Giants have offered Hankins a four-year deal worth $28 million.
“At some point, you got to be pragmatic about it,’’ said the Post’s “source familiar with the offer.”
It’s reasonable to suspect that source is not the same one which suggested Hankins was looking for $10 million per year, or the one trying to maximize his earnings.
That deal is comparable to the one Nick Fairley got from the Saints. And other than Brandon Williams’ deal with the Ravens (five years $52.25 million), the market has been soft for the big guys this offseason, with good veterans having to settle for one-year deals.
Whether he misread the market or not, Hankins is young enough (25) and good enough that he shouldn’t have to go that route, and someone who knows what the Giants offered is trying to make it sound like the deal he ought to take.