The New York Giants are clinging to life at 2-5 this season.
Joe Judge could be coaching for his job and the same is true for GM Dave Gettleman.
The latter is likely on a hotter seat and it all has to do with his roster construction.
If Judge had a different GM above him, things could be different.
One notable player brought in during the Gettleman era is Jabrill Peppers.
The safety came over in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade and showed up with the reputation of being a former first-round pick.
Peppers had trouble staying healthy and is out this season after suffering a torn ACL.
It is a contract year and while Peppers could have been on the trade block if healthy, Judge decided to show support for his injured defender.
“Look, this guy is in a contract year, it’s something I’ve talked to him about directly,” Judge said, according to Pro Football Talk. “He’s a guy that I value a lot in this program. I’d love to have this guy going forward, I’ve told him that directly. He’s been a very good leader for us. You can talk about him being local, that the Giants mean something to him. I think that’s very important. He’s a guy that loves football, he loves this organization, he loves this area. Those are things we talk about building as cornerstones and pillars of this program and he’s a very important part of our program.”
This is a nice vote of confidence for a player facing such a critical offseason.
#Giants safety Jabrill Peppers tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. He's in the final year of his contract. Rough all around.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 26, 2021
Peppers Finds Support From Judge
The Giants having another losing season could mean plenty of changes.
So for now, Peppers seems to have the support of his head coach.
Joe Judge said he would “love” to bring Jabrill Peppers back (he’s a free agent after the season) and he told him that. #Giants
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 27, 2021
Yet things can change if there is new leadership in charge when it comes time to sign a contract.
Unfortunately, Peppers has not lived up to the hype of being in such a blockbuster deal.
The same can also be true of Beckham in Cleveland, so perhaps it is more even.
Judge backing up a veteran player like this can go a long way if the team does in fact retain Peppers and makes him a leader on defense.
He would also support his coach and the Giants could actually build a culture like they have been desperately trying to do for years.
NEXT: Who Is To Blame For All The Giants' Current Woes?