EAST RUTHERFORD — The Giants met with Curtis Weaver more than once during the abbreviated walk-up to the NFL Draft, showing considerable interest in the productive pass rusher from Boise State.
As fate would have it, Weaver ended up in Miami with the Dolphins in the fifth round.
And while it remains uncertain just how much the Giants liked Weaver's potential, an unexpected opportunity revealed itself Monday and we might just find out.
Unfortunately for Weaver, after he reportedly suffered an injury to the sesamoid bone in his foot in a recent practice, the Dolphins decided to place him on waivers with an injury designation. That move became official.
Now here's the catch and where the Giants could come into play.
Weaver likely will not play in the 2020 season. He's likely facing a lengthy rehabilitation process, and could face surgery to fix the problem.
But the Giants have fourth priority in the waiver process, meaning the chances are good that, if they want him, they could get him prior to Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline.
The Dolphins don't want to lose Weaver, but they had to expose him to the rest of the league in order to gain a roster spot. If Weaver clears waivers - and those players released with injuries very often do - he'll revert to the Dolphins' injured reserve and they would retain his rights.
That does not always happen, however, and the Giants know first hand from that.
You see, this situation is similar to what the Giants faced when they waived tight end Jake Ballard with an injury designation in June 2012. If you recall, Ballard tore his ACL four months prior during Super Bowl XLVI, and he was faced with a rehab that was going to cost him the 2012 season.
But Patriots coach Bill Belichick liked what he saw from Ballard, who beat New England with a touchdown catch from Eli Manning during the 2011 regular season. So despite the Giants' expectation that Ballard would go unclaimed and revert to their IR, Belichick had other ideas.
Here's what Belichick told reporters after the Patriots claimed Ballard to some criticism that they broke an unwritten rule by claiming an injured player: "If a player's on waivers, he's on waivers, ours or anybody else's. I don't know what 'unwrittens' you're talking about. Look, anytime you put a player on waivers, you know there's 31 teams that can take him. We all know that, there's no secrets about that."
Why not take another page out of the Belichick playbook, as the Giants did when they placed the May 5 tender to flatten the free agency market and ultimately secure the rights of Markus Golden for this season?
The Giants will continue to reshape their pass rush, and while the 22-year-old Weaver would not be part of a solution this year, his production makes this an investment to consider.
The 6-foot-2, 265-pound Weaver signed a four-year rookie contract worth $3.6 million, and he had 13.5 sacks last year for Boise State, giving him 34 sacks in 40 career games. That's not an expensive deal by any stretch, and in reality, the Giants could claim Weaver, let their medical staff check on his injuries, put together a rehab plan and all it would take is a roster spot.
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On paper, Weaver would seem to fit into defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's system. And if the Giants didn't like what they saw with his medicals, they could waive Weaver and start the process over again.
There's a good chance the Giants' pass rush unit will look plenty different in 2021, with a potential draft upgrade clearly on the table.
Golden and Kyler Fackrell are on 1-year deals.
Lorenzo Carter will be entering the final season of his rookie contract. We'll likely take a lot from this season's performance when assessing Oshane Ximines' future.
Rookies Carter Coughlin and Cam Brown have potential, but they're in a fight for roster spots as training camp progresses toward final cuts on Labor Day weekend.
It's worth taking a long-term view here with Weaver, giving up a roster spot for 12 days for the chance to add another piece to the puzzle down the road.
Art Stapleton is the Giants beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Giants analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and sign up for our NFC East newsletter.
Email: stapleton@northjersey.com Twitter: @art_stapleton
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