The news continues to roll in East Rutherford for the New York Giants. Just a day after signing Saquon Barkley to a one-year contract, the Giants have announced that they’ve officially signed starting left tackle Andrew Thomas to a massive extension.
The contract is a five year, $117.5 million deal with an astounding $67 million fully guaranteed. That gives Thomas the highest guarantees of any offensive tackle in the NFL, and the highest in history at the position. It also makes him the second-highest paid tackle on an average per year salary, at $23.5 million.
Signing Andrew Thomas gives the Giants their third major contract signing to retain players of their own this offseason. New York first signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a 4 year, $160 million extension. They then followed that up with signing Jones’ 2019 NFL Draft partner Dexter Lawrence to a 4 year, $90 million deal.
Locking in Thomas on this deal extends him beyond the two years that were remaining on his contract prior to signing. This new deal locks Thomas into Giants blue for the next seven years, meaning he’s a Giant at least through the 2029 season, barring any changes to his play.
What does Andrew Thomas’s signing mean for the New York Giants?
Overall, the signing of Thomas means that the Giants seriously wanted to secure their own talented players for the long-haul, unafraid of providing large money deals to those deserving. While Thomas’s career did start rough his rookie year, his play has seen improvement year-after-year until last season, when he was a stalwart blocker, allowing only 3 sacks total on a shaky offensive line. Additionally, Thomas is a disciplined player, only notching 10 penalties in his three seasons at the pro level.
It also means the Giants are fully confident they’ve found their long-term left tackle in Thomas, which is a rarity that Giants fans are familiar with. The Giants have not had a consistent, reliable, stalwart-level left tackle since Will Beatty back in the early 2010s, and even then, Beatty wasn’t on par with Thomas.
Thomas’s signing is a signal the Giants are wanting to build their offense and protect their starting quarterback in Daniel Jones. However, even if Jones doesn’t pan out, the Giants have a two-year out on his contract and could replace him with a new passer who would still have Thomas as his blindside protector.
All-in-all, it’s good business by Joe Schoen and the front office to navigate the salary cap to make such deals happen. Giants fans should be happy that the best offensive lineman on the team is staying for quite a while.