Top left tackle Nate Solder will leave the Patriots to sign a four-year, $62 million contract with the Giants, reports NFL.com. The deal includes $35 million in guaranteed money and makes him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL.
Solder has spent the past seven seasons helping to protect Tom Brady as the Patriots’ left tackle. He was New England’s first-round pick in 2011 and won two Super Bowls with the franchise before hitting the open market this offseason.
The Giants paid a high price to land Solder, who was a Pro Bowl alternate for 2017 but didn’t play because the Patriots were in the Super Bowl. The 6’8, 320-pound lineman immediately provides an upgrade to an offense that’s based around Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. Just as Brady enjoyed having Solder protect his blind side, Manning should similarly benefit from this signing.
This has been a tough offseason for the Patriots, who have also lost cornerback Malcolm Butler, running back Dion Lewis, and wide receiver Danny Amendola to free agency. Butler and Lewis agreed to sign with the Titans, while Amendola is heading to the Dolphins.
