Giants Keep Ahmad Bradshaw
Added on Aug 01, 2011 by Jack Thurman in
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The New York Giants have come to terms with last year’s leading rusher Ahmad Bradshaw. It was well known that keeping the running back in the fold was the team’s top off season priority and that was evident in the deal they signed off on–while terms haven’t been ‘officially’ released reports suggest that Bradshaw will receive a four year deal worth $18 million with $9 million guaranteed.
New York has been maneuvering to free up salary cap space to resign Bradshaw–primarily by releasing a number of veteran reserves. Next on their priority list is wide receiver Steve Smith and tight end Kevin Boss. They apparently could care less about keeping malcontent Osi Umenyiora on the roster since they’ve given him permission to seek a trade.
Bradshaw publicly said that he wanted to come back to the Giants:
“I’d rather stay. I’ve set my foundation there in New York and I love just the excitement there. The fans are great. The community is great out there. I love New York the most but the price is going to talk.”
The real catalyst, however, was a ‘buyer’s market’ for running backs that made it unlikely that he’d break the bank by leaving the team. This economic reality likely had more to do with his decision to return to New York than any sense of loyalty. He had drawn attention from several teams but after they settled their running back situation he went crawling back to the Giants hat in hand.
Bradshaw picked up 1,235 yards and had eight touchdowns in his first season as the Giants’ starter in 2010. He does have some downsides–he was fumble prone early in the season losing six fumbles though he improved in this regard in the second half. A more problematic long term concern is his physical durability–he’s had ankle and knee issues and had ankle surgery in the off season. That was in addition to the same surgery on the other ankle in the previous offseason, and Bradshaw has had surgery on both feet. There’s also some concern about his size–at 5’9″ he’s not particularly big for a NFL running back.
