The New York Giants have had a problem with their secondary for the last few years.
The only reliable cornerback they had was Cor’Dale Flott, and he opted to take his talents to the Tennessee Titans this offseason.
Now, that leaves only one Joe Schoen cornerback draft pick remaining on the roster, and that’s 2023 first-round pick Deonte Banks.
Banks has had an up-and-down career in New York, showing promise in his rookie season, but struggling to maintain consistency over the last two years.
If anything, his shortcomings helped the Giants make a decision on Banks’ future with the team, and they reportedly made that choice today.
Giants Decline Fifth-Year Option on Deonte Banks
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the New York Giants are declining the fifth-year option on their former first-round cornerback, leaving Banks as an impending free agent following the 2026 season.
“Cornerback Deonte Banks‘ fifth-year option is being declined by the Giants. Hardly a surprise given his struggles the past few seasons,” wrote Raanan in a post on X.
“Essentially the Giants declined to pick up an option that would have put Banks under contract in 2027 for $12.633 million. Instead, he’s fighting for playing time with second-round pick Colton Hood and free-agent signing Greg Newsome in his way.”
To be frank, this was the easiest decision the Giants brass had to make all offseason. In no world were they going to commit to paying Banks $12.633 million in 2027.
The former Maryland standout was Pro Football Focus’s 112th-ranked cornerback out of 114 qualified players in 2025, meaning there were only two defensive backs who graded out worse than Banks.
In 16 appearances and six starts, he had zero interceptions on the season, managed to break up only one pass, and allowed a 149.7 passer rating when targeted and gave up 26 receptions.
It’s unfortunate that a player with such high expectations coming out of the 2023 NFL Draft has turned out this way, but Banks’ tenure in New York has just not gone as planned.
He’ll likely play out the final year of his rookie deal as a reserve corner in 2026 and look to revitalize his career elsewhere in 2027.
Current State of the Giants Cornerback Room
Luckily for the New York Giants, they’ve done a good job of adding to their cornerback room this offseason in both free agency and the draft.
Despite losing Flott to the Tennessee Titans, the Giants took a flier on former Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome.
It’s a one-year deal for Newsome, who’s coming off a down year with both the Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.
In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Giants used their second-round pick on Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood.
Hood, a fringe first-round talent, expects to have the opportunity to compete for a starting job right away.
With last year’s big-ticket free agent addition, Paulson Adebo, entering his second season in New York, there figures to be a very intriguing cornerback competition in training camp this summer.
Adebo gets paid too much to not be a starter, while Newsome, Hood, and Banks all figure to compete for the gig opposite the former New Orleans Saints draft pick.
It remains to be seen who will earn the respect of John Harbaugh’s defensive coaching staff.
Giants Make No-Brainer Decision on Recent First-Round Pick Deonte Banks