D’Andre Swift gets rave reviews from Giants management in ‘Hard Knocks’ season premiere Originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
The latest version of “Hard knocks” The show premiered Tuesday and gave NFL fans an inside look at the Giants’ offseason. Although the show follows general manager Joe Schoen and others in the Giants Front office, Bears Fans were able to get to know one of the team’s new players a little bit.
In one scene, the Giants’ personnel team reviewed running backs on the market in case they needed to be replaced. Saquon BarkleyThe Giants staff was enthusiastic when it came time to discuss By André Swift.
“This kid, from a physicality standpoint, can make up for some of the things that are lost with Saquon from an explosiveness standpoint and a passing game standpoint,” Giants director of pro scouting Chris Rossetti said.
Interestingly, the Giants thought it would be difficult to bring Swift to the team.
“Price would be a very important factor for him,” Rossetti said.
“It’s going to be tough to get him out of Philadelphia,” assistant general manager Brandon Brown said. “It’s his home.”
The Bears ended up signing Swift to a three-year, $24 million contract. Barkley ultimately replaced Swift in Philadelphia on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The Giants eventually signed Devin Singletary to a three-year, $16.5 million contract and added Tyrone Tracy in the fifth round of the draft to remake his space in the RB.
One reason the Giants may have passed on Swift was that they didn’t view him as a star running back, despite his talent.
“If we sign him, he’ll be more of a package player,” Rossetti said. “We’ll pair him with someone.”
The contract the Bears offered Swift indicates he will get the bulk of the work in the backfield this year, but there will still be opportunities for Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson to get plays in two-man defense formations and in rotational roles.
It’s hard to judge how the running game will perform in the early stages of the offseason. The Bears won’t put on the pads until training camp begins, and then we’ll get our first idea of how well or poorly things will go.
The Bears’ rookies will report to Halas Hall for training camp on July 16. The veterans will report a few days later on July 19.