It’s tough to blame Steve Smith for following the money. Coming off complicated microfracture knee surgery, there’s no telling how much, how well, or how long Smith will play this season.
It was a foregone conclusion that he would get a one-year deal to re-establish his value along with the opportunity to test the open market again next summer. But as much as Smith, 26, wanted to return to the Giants, and by all accounts he was desperate to re-sign with New York, he would have been foolish to do anything but take the highest offer.
Smith, like all football players, has watched far too many promising young players disappear after injury and surgery, never to make another ripple on the NFL landscape, never again to earn the big bucks that have been such a huge part of the lavish lifestyle they've enjoyed for their first few years in the league.
Surely Smith is confident that he’ll come back better than ever, but he also must be realistic – and if he’s not being realistic, his agent is – and so he knew that he must cash in now, while he still has value.
Ideally Smith will miss just a few weeks of the season, put up Pro Bowl numbers and get his coveted long-term deal next offseason. But he’s only being smart and safe by taking the highest offer now. The Eagles offered $4 million, $2 million of which is guaranteed, which is believed to be far in excess of the Giants’ best offer.
Just a couple months ago Smith was one of Tom Coughlin’s most loyal soldiers, spouting off inflammatory tweets at Eagles running back LeSean McCoy. How this all unfolded was a shock to everyone, including Smith and if he had any other choice he likely would have taken it.
Smith is not the fool here, Giants GM Jerry Reese is. He’s fumbled through a train wreck of an offseason and just allowed quarterback Eli Manning’s favorite target to not only leave the organization, but to sign with the hated rival, the self-described “Dream Team,” the Philadelphia Eagles.
Reese and the Giants will insist that they were told by doctors that Smith might not play this year and might never be the same again, but indications are that this was all about the money.
Smith took the most he could get from a team that has added a steady stream of impact players this offseason, while Reese tried to untangle a poorly managed cap situation. Smith joined a legitimate Super Bowl contender, while Reese watched yet another key contributor leave for greener pastures thanks to financial constraints.
The brilliant roster construction of Reese’s Super Bowl XLII Championship squad is a distant memory and the only thing that fans will remember now is that Reese allowed Smith to become a member of the hated team that ripped their hearts out in the unbelievable season finale that eliminated the Giants from playoff contention.
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