Giants the betting favorite to sign Xavien Howard in free agency

Veteran cornerback Xavien Howard is still on the market after being released by the Miami Dolphins earlier this offseason, and the team that is the favorite to sign him before the start of the season is the New York Giants, according to BetOnline.

The Giants are the favorites to sign Xavier Howard, with their odds set at +400. The Jacksonville Jaguars (+500), Chicago Bears (+600), Baltimore Ravens (+800) and Houston Texans (+900) are the four teams behind the Giants when looking at the odds.

Howard is not the caliber of player that he used to be, but he could still be a useful player for a team that needs a veteran presence in the cornerback room. The Giants fit that category, and we will go through the depth chart later.

The Jaguars make sense with Ronald Darby and Tyson Campbell viewed as the two outside corners. The Bears have Jaylon Johnson locked into a long-term contract, but could possibly use another corner. The Ravens have Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens as their top two corners, and the Texans have Derek Stingly Jr. and Jeff Okudah. Any of those four would make sense, but there is a reason that the Giants are the favorite.

With Darren Waller announcing his retirement in June, the Giants ended up with about $12.7 million in cap space. It remains to be see how Joe Schoen will use that room, but there is the possibility for him to use that space to add a veteran either during training camp or after cuts take place. If Howard’s price is not crazy, it could be a decent one-year signing for the Giants.

However, Joe Schoen could decide to save that cap space for in-season moves, and use the remaining room as rollover cap for 2025, when the Giants might have higher expectations compared to what they are heading into the 2024 season.

Xavien Howard fits the Giants’ depth chart

When looking at the Giants’ cornerback depth, the top one on the depth chart is second year player Deonte Banks, who was selected in the first round in 2023 and showed promise in his rookie season. It makes a lot of sense to see if Deonte Banks can make it as a No. 1 cornerback this upcoming season. The other side of the field and the slot corner position have a lot of question marks.

As of right now, third year player Cor’Dale Flott is listed as the second outside corner, but that is likely to be an open competition in training camp with players like Nick McCloud or Tre Hawkins III. In the slot, veteran Tre Herndon could be the starter, but rookie Dru Phillips and Darnay Holmes could be competing for snaps as well. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in those training camp battles.

However, the Giants’ cornerback room could use a player like Howard. There are some young players New York would like to see emerge this season, but it would be nice to not depend on those players starting right away without other options.