EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- In the past, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen has made contract offers to free agents during the bye week. He did so with former players such as running back Saquon Barkley and safety Julian Love.
This season is a little different because the Giants are just finishing their bye in Week 14 in December.
The finish line is in sight for the Giants' top free agents. Players such as wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor and cornerback Cor'Dale Flott are just four games away from maximizing their value on the open market.
"At this point, I feel like it's going to just go to free agency," Robinson told ESPN before the bye. "Not really pressed about getting a contract right now. Just kind of let it play itself out."
Robinson, Eluemunor and Flott all are having their best seasons during their contract years. It makes for some tough decisions for the Giants and Schoen, should he stick around despite another difficult season.
It probably wouldn't hurt if Schoen remains. He brought all three players to the Giants -- Robinson and Flott in the second and third rounds, respectively, of the 2022 NFL draft and Eluemunor as a free agent in 2024.
Here's a look at each situation with free agency around the corner:
WR Wan'Dale Robinson: He's the Giants' leading receiver and on pace for 95 catches and a career-best 1,082 yards with four touchdowns. Robinson leads all wide receivers with 488 yards out of the slot, almost 40 yards ahead of Detroit's Aman-Ra St. Brown.
Adding to his value, Robinson proved this season he can play on the outside, something he hasn't done much in the past. The fourth-year wide receiver considers this his "best year as a whole" and has even started seeing double teams in recent weeks for the first time since college. He's earned leaguewide respect.
"I definitely think a lot," Robinson said. "Even just after games, just hearing from certain guys, certain coaches, it's like, OK, they're watching the tape. They're seeing everything that's going on."
Some of his success has to do with getting a chance to run a more complete route tree, a desire he expressed and something the Giants stressed this offseason. Robinson's average air yards per target (ay/t) is 8.73 this season. It was 5.12 ay/t his first three years.
This only increases Robinson's stock. Buffalo's Khalil Shakir set the slot receiver market last offseason with a four-year, $53 million deal that could be worth up to $15 million per season. That's a contract that Robinson, 24, and his team have eyed since its signing. Considering Shakir never had a 900-yard season in his career, Robinson should be able to beat that this offseason as the top slot receiver on the market by a wide margin.
Staying with the Giants is enticing.
"I love New York and this is the place that drafted me," Robinson said. "I feel like I have good chemistry with Jaxson [Dart] and all of my teammates that I've been here with and I've spent the last four years of my life here. So it's a lot easier said than done just to get up and move and go somewhere else. So I would like to stay here, but at the end of the day, if it's not the right place then we'll see what happens."
RT Jermaine Eluemunor: He has been the best free agent signing of the Schoen regime. Eluemunor signed a two-year, $14 million deal with the Giants prior to last season and has settled in nicely at right tackle.
At the time of his signing, Eluemunor was coming off an up-and-down year where he was rotating and had to earn the trust of the Raiders' coaching staff. In New York, he has given the Giants one of the league's best tackle tandems playing alongside Andrew Thomas. It has helped provide continuity and stability to a once-problematic line. The Giants went into the bye just outside the top 10 in pass block win rate, and Eluemunor's 88.5 pass block win rate ranks as the second highest of his career at tackle.
Keeping this line together should be a priority for the Giants moving forward. Eluemunor, 30, has established himself as a high-end tackle. He views himself as one of the better, or best, right tackles in the NFL. It should pay off in free agency.
"It's kind of like uncharted territory for me because I feel like I'm having the best year of my career," Eluemunor said.
The veteran lineman said he would be open to talking with the Giants before the end of the season. Why not? He's thrived in New York and under offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. And stability matters to Eluemunor with a young family.
Proven starting tackles aren't cheap though. Jaylon Moore got two years and $30 million from the Kansas City Chiefs this past offseason after starting just five games the previous season. Carolina right tackle Taylor Moton signed a two-year, $44 million extension this past summer at a similar age to Eluemunor.
"I feel like I'm one of the best right tackles right now and will be for the rest of my career. So yeah, I don't know what my range is," Eluemunor said. "Like I said, I feel like I'm one of the best players at my position. So whatever that means."
Eluemunor, who will leave the negotiating up to Athletes First super-agent David Mulugheta, views Dart as a selling point to remain in New York and thinks it's only a matter of time before the Giants start winning again with him at quarterback.
CB Cor'Dale Flott: The fourth-year corner bounced back and forth from the outside to the slot his first three years as a professional. He didn't seem to have a home.
But given the chance to start on the outside ahead of the struggling Deonte Banks, Flott has thrived. He has allowed a completion percentage of 55.4% as the nearest defender this season, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That's top 25 in the league. He has also allowed just one touchdown grab.
Flott, 24, might not be a true No. 1 cornerback, but he has shown this season he can be a solid starter with potential to grow into something bigger. And starting cornerbacks are valuable. Paulson Adebo signed with the Giants off a broken leg last year for $18 million per season. That was the going rate for the higher-end corners on the market.
Over the Cap has Flott's 2025 valuation at just over $14 million.