The answers for the Giants' defense may very well be in the Cards.
A number of players who excelled under current Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher during his time in Arizona are expected to be primary targets for Big Blue when free agency opens Wednesday. One of them, safety Antoine Bethea, has already agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Giants, a source confirmed. NFL Network was the first to report the agreement.
Bethea played under Bettcher with the Cardinals in 2017 and had five interceptions. He played all 16 games for the Cardinals last season and had three sacks and four pass defenses.
Bethea comes to a Giants team that does not have much in the way of safeties. The Giants did not use a franchise tag to keep Landon Collins on the roster for 2019, and the three-time Pro Bowler is expected to sign a monster deal with the Redskins on Wednesday. Bethea, 34, is almost a decade older than Collins. But he has experience playing both strong and free safety and has shown few signs of age slowing down his play or production. He's played in at least 14 games in all but one of his 13 NFL seasons, beginning with the Colts as a sixth-rounder in 2006.
The Giants will still need more help at safety. The only other established players on the roster at that position are Michael Thomas and Sean Chandler. But they also need help at most places on their defense and Bettcher's history could help in those free-agency searches as well.
Edge-rusher Markus Golden and inside linebacker Deone Bucannon both had their best seasons under Bettcher and his scheme, then were miscast as the team switched to a 4-3 style last season. Golden had 12.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 2016. He tore his ACL in 2017 and returned to play in 2018 when he had just four sacks. Bucannon was the original "moneybacker" for Bettcher in Arizona, a role the Giants struggled to fill last season. He's a little undersized at 211 pounds but could be helpful in coverage and as a pass-rusher. In 2015, Bettcher's first year in Arizona, he had 112 tackles, three sacks and an interception.
The Giants have two other players already on their defense who played under Bettcher in Arizona: linebacker Kareem Martin and defensive lineman Josh Mauro.
