Grant Delpit’s new contract only sharpened the sting of the Giants’ Jevón Holland decision.
The Cleveland Browns handed Delpit a three-year, $48 million extension on Wednesday, a deal that pays him $16 million per year. For New York, that number lands like a punch to the gut because Holland is already on a three-year, $45.3 million contract - just $900,000 less annually - and his first season with the Giants was a disaster.
Holland, 26, arrived last offseason as the intended replacement for Xavier McKinney after general manager Joe Schoen let McKinney leave in 2024 without reaching an extension. McKinney then signed a four-year, $67 million deal with the Packers and has been nothing short of elite since, earning All-Pro first-team honors in 2024 and All-Pro second-team recognition last season.
There’s no way to know if McKinney would have produced the same way in New York, but the comparison still stings. The Giants passed on paying McKinney an extra $1.65 million per year, then turned around and gave Holland $15.1 million annually.
That gamble looks rough enough on its own. Holland making a near-identical salary to Delpit while delivering far less only makes it worse.
Delpit is not a superstar, but he’s been steady. The 27-year-old has never made a Pro Bowl and has never been ranked higher than 34th at his position by Pro Football Focus, yet he also hasn’t fallen below 56th over his six-year career. Last season, he posted a 66.6 overall grade from PFF, which ranked 41st among 98 eligible safeties.
Holland’s 2025 season, by contrast, was a major step backward. He finished with a 58.4 overall grade, landing 73rd. That’s the kind of production that makes the Giants’ investment look less like a calculated move and more like paying for a name, or a version of the player that no longer showed up on the field.
The broader pattern is what really hurts for Giants fans. New York let a homegrown star walk, spent a year trying to patch the hole, and then paid almost the same money for a replacement who didn’t come close to matching the production. Delpit’s extension only underscores how ordinary the price tag has become for a solid safety - and how badly the Giants missed on Holland.
Cleveland made its move after also giving star cornerback Denzel Ward a two-year, $62.2 million extension. The Browns took care of one of their own. The Giants, meanwhile, are left staring at a contract that already looks like a costly mistake.
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