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The NFL put on a good show on Thursday, making it seem like long-term labor peace was at hand. The owners voted on a comprehensive collective bargaining agreement, complete with a 17-game schedule, expanded playoffs, and more money and better benefits for players.

They were hoping for a quick approval. But the players have responded: Not so fast.

The NFL Players Association want to head back to the bargaining table, according to a report from the NFL Network, after the union's executive committee voted 6-5 to not recommend the owners' proposal to their 32 team representatives. It was a stunning reversal, considering that is the committee that negotiated the deal the owners accepted.

Owning the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Giants are in prime position to add an impact player.

But which direction will they go with that pick?

It's clear that the Giants have plenty of ways they could go, as the team went just 4-12 last year and hasn't won more than five games since 2016. 

Former Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara will reportedly join the free agent market earlier than expected.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bears have released Amukamara after three seasons in Chicago.

Amukamara, a nine-year veteran, will now search for his fourth team to play for, after having played for the Giants from 2011-2015, the Jaguars in 2016 and the Bears from 2017-2019.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones enters free agency as arguably the best player available at his position, and will surely demand a high paycheck for his services.

With the Giants secondary being a big hole in their defense, CBS Sports' Patrik Walker and Cody Benjamin report that they could be in contention to sign the rival CB.

The Giants just brought in former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to be their new offensive coordinator, so although Jones would be on the defensive side of the ball, there's still that connection.

Former Jets and Giants defensive lineman Damon "Snacks" Harrison will once again be looking for a new team.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Harrison is being released by the Lions after one and a half seasons with the team. 

Listed at 6-foot-3, 350 pounds, the run-stuffing specialist played 25 games with the Lions, with 24 starts. With Detroit, Harrison totaled 5.5 sacks, 49 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

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The Giants will clearly be on the hunt for offensive line help this offseason. And while there is no guarantee they'll select one in the first round of the NFL draft, there are already a couple of top prospects they seem to really like.

In fact, the Giants already "love" Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs, according to an NFL source familiar with the Giants thinking, and they have expressed similar interest in Alabama's Jedrick Wills. Both of them are widely considered among the top four offensive line prospects in this year's class, and they will get a good look from the entire league at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis next week.

It is far too early to know whether either of them would interest the Giants enough to draft them with the fourth overall pick. Right now, the NFL consensus seems to have Wirfs and Wills in a four-man group at the top of the offensive line charts, with Georgia's Andrew Thomas and Louisville's Mekhi Becton. Which order they will eventually land in depends, for now, on who is asked.

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The Giants have multiple needs to fill this offseason, including offensive line help and virtually everywhere on the defense. There is also one, though that isn't pressing but needs some thought put into it before training camp begins this summer. 

As we all know, Eli Manning has gone off into the sunset following his stellar, Hall of Fame-worthy NFL career. Daniel Jones was already transitioned in as the quarterback of the future in Week 3, with Manning as his backup helping him along the way. 

Well, with the Manning gone, who is going to back up Jones now?

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Sometime in the next few days, or maybe weeks, the NFL is going to add a 17th regular season game and two more playoff teams, which in turn will add to the number of teams in playoff contention.

The NFL owners have been steamrolling in this direction for years. And for all the resistance from the players, it's long been obvious that their compliance is for sale.

Changes are reportedly coming to the NFL's playoff structure.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the current CBA proposal includes seven teams from each conference making the the playoffs (currently six teams from each conference make the playoffs), with only one team per conference getting a bye.

The new rule would add one more Wild Card team per conference (meaning the Steelers and Rams would have made the playoffs last season), while putting extra importance on securing the number one seed.

Also of note in the new CBA, the players on the teams with a first-round bye would now be compensated for that weekend, whereas they currently are not. 

The Giants could be in the market to upgrade their secondary this offseason. Lions cornerback Darius Slay was placed on the trade block recently, according to reports on Monday. 

Could the Giants be a suitor to land him via trade? 

It could be costly both in trade assets and against the salary cap. 

The Giants will have long snapper Colin Holba back, according to The New York Post. 

Holba, 25, appeared in five games for the Giants last season. He was signed off the team's practice squad in November, replacing the injured Zak DeOssie. When signing to the 53-man roster, Holba signed a two-year deal, not a one-year contract, as first anticipated. 

Holba will be restricted free agent after the 2020 season. DeOssie, who's been with the Giants since 2007, is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. 

The Giants' secondary was young and left plenty to be desired in 2019. But could help be on the way?

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Lions have placed cornerback Darius Slay on the trade block and have talked to "multiple teams" about dealing the All-Pro defender. Could the Giants be one of those teams? 

So far, the Giants have yet to be connected to a deal for Slay, but one thing to consider, like any trade scenario, would be the compensation. 

It was reported earlier last week that Giants OLBs coach Bret Bielema had "definite interest" in the Michigan State head coaching vacancy, but the Spartans filled it with Mel Tucker. 

Well, now Bielema could be filling Tucker's vacancy left at Colorado. 

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bielema is interviewing for that head coaching job with the Buffaloes. 

As he continues to pursue his dream of playing in MLB, Mets minor league prospect and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow addressed the media on Sunday afternoon and made some positive comments on the two young quarterbacks playing in New York.

When asked if he was "yay or nay" on Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, Tebow laughed at the question and then gave an encouraging answer on the No. 6 overall pick in last year's draft.

"I think he's got a lot of talent," Tebow said of Jones. "I think he was coached really well in college. I think he will continue to improve. I think continuing to get him more weapons and confidence is pretty critical."

Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams made only 20 tackles with the team in seven games after being acquired from the Jets in a trade on Oct. 28.

The Jets drafted him sixth overall in the 2015 NFL draft out of USC, but he's struggled in recent years after being named to the Pro Bowl in 2016. The 25-year-old is set to be a free agent, as the Giants have until March 18 to sign Williams to a contract extension.

Looking to get back to his Pro Bowl form, Williams recently sought out the help of former New England Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

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When Kevin Gilbride retired after the 2013 season, he didn't spend much time looking back. He was happy to put a 40-year coaching career behind him and focus on his grandchildren instead.

That's why when Oliver Luck, the commissioner of the new XFL called to see if he was interested in coaching again, Gilbride said no. But it didn't take the 68-year-old former Giants offensive coordinator long to change his mind.

Now, after 25 years in the NFL, 10 years with the Giants and two Super Bowl championships, Gilbride is back on the sidelines as the head coach and general manager of the XFL's New York Guardians, who won their debut game, 23-3 over the Tampa Bay Vipers at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

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A former Patriots quarterback-turned radio host believes Tom Brady could be the next quarterback of the Giants. Or at least Scott Zolak said on Boston's 98.5 The Sports Hub he was told by a "very connected" source not to "fall asleep" on the possibility.

But at the very least, you can probably hit the snooze button once or twice.

Really, though, at this point who knows what Brady's future plans entail? As he drags out what is fast becoming the most painfully overhyped, overanalyzed decision since LeBron James went on TV to announce he was taking his talents to South Beach, Brady is either riding the slippery slide toward free agency on March 18, or he's not. He's either heading to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville, East Rutherford, or staying put in Foxboro, Mass.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and while he seems to be content with that for now, it's fair to wonder if he could be a fit in New York.

"I wouldn't mind being in Detroit for a while," Golladay told USA Today's Doug Farrar. "Everything should work itself out. I'm enjoying myself."

Originally a third-round pick of the Lions in 2017, Golladay has been tremendous with Detroit. surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in two of his three pro seasons. In 2019, he caught 65 passes for 1,190 yards and 11 touchdowns, proving to be one of the league's best young wide receivers. He's also proven to be a big-play threat, as his 18.3 yards per reception ranked second in the NFL. 

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Dave Gettleman has steadfastly stood by the most controversial trade of his reign, insisting that sending two draft picks to the Jets for a two-month rental of Leonard Williams was smart because "the juice was worth the squeeze."

The truth, though, is that it remains to be seen just how good the juice actually was. And it all really depends on what happens over the next five weeks. Maybe the juice was worth it for the Giants if they re-sign the 25-year-old Williams to a reasonable contract between now and the start of free agency.

So, here we are, in a world where Tom Brady's future with the Patriots is actually up in the air after spending 19 seasons in New England. The future Hall of Famer said he isn't going anywhere in a Super Bowl commercial, but that is only in reference to hanging up his cleats for good. Changing teams is definitely in the cards. 

Could that be to the Giants? 

It seems like an enormous stretch, especially after the team drafted Daniel Jones sixth overall and he took over for Eli Manning as the franchise quarterback after two games into the 2019 season. But, according to Boston radio host Scott Zolak, there's a possibility. 

The Giants seem pretty set at wide receiver, with Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, and Darius Slayton all under contract for the 2020 season. But they're reportedly looking for more help.

According to Matt Lombardo of NJAM, the Giants are expected to pursue Chiefs WR Demarcus Robinson, who is set to hit free agency.

Robinson, 25, started 10 games for the Chiefs during the regular season in 2019, hauling in 32 catches for a career-high 449 yards and four touchdowns.

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When Kevin Gilbride retired after the 2013 season, he didn't spend much time looking back. He was happy to put a 40-year coaching career behind him and focus on his grandchildren instead.

That's why when Oliver Luck, the commissioner of the new XFL, called to see if he was interested in coaching again, Gilbride said no. But it didn't take the 68-year-old former Giants offensive coordinator long to change his mind.

Now, after 25 years in the NFL, 10 years with the Giants and two Super Bowl championships, Gilbride is back on the sidelines as the head coach and general manager of the XFL's New York Guardians, who won their debut game, 23-3, over the Tampa Bay Vipers at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

Well, it looks like Giants outside linebackers coach and senior assistant Bret Bielema will be staying in his current role. 

It was reported on Monday by the Detroit Free Press' Rainer Sabin that Bielema has "definite interest" in Michigan State's head coaching vacancy following the retirement of Mark Dantonio. But, according to Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman, the job seems to be filled.

Colorado head coach Mel Tucker, after initially turning the job down, has reportedly agreed in principle to become the next Spartans head coach. 

Former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo has been named the next quarterbacks coach of the Jaguars, ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported Tuesday night. 

This upcoming season will be now McAdoo's first time on an NFL sideline since 2017.

Last month, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, McAdoo met with the Jaguars about their offensive coordinator position, after Jacksonville fired former OC John DeFilippo after one year with the team. But instead McAdoo will just focus on the quarterbacks, as former Redskins head coach Jay Gruden was named OC a few weeks ago.

The Giants may be confident in their extremely young secondary, but GM Dave Gettleman should be looking around for a veteran cornerback to balance out that group heading into the new season. 

And Giants WR Darius Slayton is trying to help him out. 

Lions CB Darius Slay is in his final year with Detroit before coming a free agent in 2021, and he has made it quite clear that he wants to be the highest-paid corner in the league. Over the weekend, he responded to a suggestion from a Lions writer that said he would receive an extension that would pay out around $15-16 million per season -- that would make him the highest-paid. 

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Dave Gettleman has presided over seven NFL drafts with two different franchises, and he still has never done it. Many other teams have, from the first round to the last, in an attempt to acquire extra draft picks.

But Gettleman, the Giants GM, has still never traded down.

This, though, could be the year he breaks that streak -- and possibly very early. He "seems more open to the idea" of trading back this year -- even in the first round, according to a source familiar with the Giants thinking. And a team source, while saying it's all wildly premature and there have been no actual trade discussions, acknowledged a rare trade back in the first round can't be ruled out.

Giants GM Dave Gettleman has been steadfast in keeping his spot in the NFL Drafts he has lead for the Panthers and Giants over his career. Opportunities to trade back have come up, when he could've had more draft stock to work with. But, ultimately, he took the player of his choice.

This year, though, that could change after seven years of keeping his picks.

According to SNY's Ralph Vacchiano, a source with familiarity of the Giants' thinking said Gettleman "seems more open to the idea" of trading back, and that includes his No. 4 overall pick. A team source added that a trade back "can't be ruled out."

The NFL season officially came to a close last Sunday, as the Kansas City Chiefs knocked off the San Francisco 49ers to bring capture the Lombardi Trophy.

So that's it for football until training camp opens in July, right?

"Not so fast," says the XFL.

More than 18 years after Michael Strahan broke Mark Gastineau's single-season sack record, the former Jets pass-rusher wants the world to know that he thinks the record should still belong to him.  

"I just want to be recognized for the record," Gastineau told ESPN on Monday. "You wouldn't want your son getting a record like that. I don't think it's good for the NFL. It was never good for the NFL, and I'm surprised the NFL didn't step in."

Strahan's sack in question came against the Packers during the final game of the 2001 season. Sitting at 21.5 sacks, Strahan needed just one to break Gastineau's record. With the Packers up 34-25 late in the game, Strahan blew past Packers tight end Bubba Franks and had a free shot at Favre, who went down to give Strahan the single-season record.

Pepper Johnson, was has been affiliated with both the Giants and Jets in his football career, was abruptly fired from his XFL gig only hours removed from the league's beginning over the weekend. 

Johnson, 55, was employed by the Los Angeles Wildcats as their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. The team announced he was relieved of his duties on Monday.

The Wildcats had lost their inaugural game, 31-17, to the Houston Roughnecks, a game which featured winning quarterback PJ Walker tossing four touchdown passes. 

Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley are, unsurprisingly, considered longshots at best to win NFL MVP in 2020. Jones comes in at 66-1, while Barkley is listed at 100-1, according to BetOnline.ag.

After taking over at quarterback in Week 3 last season, Jones will enter the season as the undisputed starter following the retirement of Eli Manning. He'll hope to build on the relationship he developed with fellow rookie Darius Slayton, who also debuted in Week 3 and finished the season with 48 catches for 740 yards and eight touchdowns. Jones finished the season with 3027 yards passing and a 61.9% completion percentage. Other players at 66-1 include incoming quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa.

Barkley took the league by storm in 2018 and led the entire NFL in yards from scrimmage, but missed three games with an ankle sprain in 2019. He finished the season with 1003 yards rushing and added 52 catches for 438 yards out of the backfield, but remains one of the most explosive running backs in the league. Barkley joins Jets quarterback Sam Darnold and former Giants wide reciever Odell Beckham Jr. among the players listed at 100-1.

The Giants announced last week that Joe Judge's coaching staff was officially complete. But they might have to replace one position already. 

Bret Bielema, who was named the Giants' outside linebackers coach as well as senior assistant, is said to have "definite" interest in taking over the Michigan State Spartans after Mark Dantonio retired last week, per the Detroit Free Press' Rainer Sabin.

Michigan State was expected to see Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell be their top candidate, but he decided to stay with the Bearcats. Now the search is back to square one. 

A February afternoon of football graced MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride was the center of attention in the home locker room after the game.

With the Giants in the NFL from 2004-13 -- starting out as the quarterbacks coach over the first three years before becoming the offensive coordinator for the final eight seasons, including two Super Bowl-winning campaigns in 2007 and '11 -- Gilbride was back at his old stomping grounds as he led the New York Guardians into the weekend's XFL opener.

Coming back to coaching after a seven-year retirement, Gilbride's return was a successful one with Sunday's 23-3 win over the Tampa Bay Vipers (0-1) before an announced crowd of 17,634. Guardians quarterback Matt McGloin welcomed Gilbride back accordingly after the game, awarding the head coach with the game ball.

Should former Giants quarterback Eli Manning make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Saquon Barkley says yes. 

Manning retired following the 2019 season and his candidacy is a hot-button topic as of late. 

But the running back, who played the past two seasons with Manning, thinks it's not even a question worth asking. There's no doubt Barkley thinks Manning should be enshrined one day. 

At a press conference on Thursday, former Giants head coach and current Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur spoke about the similarities between Broncos quarterback Drew Lock and Daniel Jones.

Shurmur reflected on his draft process memories of Lock, who was the No. 42 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft -- 36 picks after the Giants took Jones.

He said the Giants' decision to draft Jones sixth overall was an "organizational decision," according to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk, while also adding that the Giants had "a very, very high opinion" of Lock.

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The last time the Giants had money to burn in free agency, they burned it at an unprecedented clip. They even managed to essentially buy their way into the playoffs, though that 2016 team was famously one-and-done.

The lesson, Giants co-owner John Mara said in a recent interview on WFAN, was "You can fix some holes pretty quickly (with free agency), but long-term I'm not sure that it really works."

In other words, don't expect the Giants to be big spenders when free agency opens on March 18, even though they'll have more than $60 million in salary cap space to spend. With Mara's endorsement, GM Dave Gettleman has taken a draft-centered approach to rebuilding the Giants (mostly). They'll dip into the free agent pool, to be sure, but it won't be a cannonball-type splash.

On Thursday, recently retired Giants quarterback Eli Manning, joined by his brother Peyton Manning, joked with media about his improved golf game at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am PGA TOUR golf tournament.

"I think he might've snuck out for a couple rounds this season," Peyton Manning said.

"Had a little more free time than I wanted to," Eli Manning said. "Took advantage of it."

The 2019 Giants season ended up being a start of a rebuild, and as often happens in such cases, the team underwhelmed in the win column. In their own right, the Jets weren't rebuilding and had higher hopes heading into last season, but didn't have the year their fans had hoped for, either. 

Despite both teams hitting their unders in 2019, the two are trending in opposite directions in the eyes of oddsmakers early in the 2020 offseason. 

The Giants, entering 2019 with a win total of six and missing that with four wins, see their over/ under increase to 6.5, according to OddsShark. 

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The Giants are already projected to have about $60 million in salary cap space to spend in free agency, and the truth is they may not need it all. Giants co-owner John Mara seemed to indicate as much in a radio interview last month when he called free agency "a double-edged sword."

"If you think free agency is going to fix all your problems, you are going to be sadly disappointed," he said on WFAN. "We are not going to be hog wild in there and spend it all."

Given that, there doesn't seem to be a need for the Giants to add even more cap room over the next few months by cutting some of their more expensive, veteran players. There will undoubtedly be a few cap casualties, especially with a new coach taking over, but with no financial need for downsizing, a few of the players on the brink might be spared.

The Falcons made it known Monday that they wouldn't be pursuing any contract negotiations with 2015 first-round pick OLB Vic Beasley, meaning he'll head to free agency looking for another suitor.

Could that be the Giants? It makes tons of sense when you break it down. 

Beasley had his fifth-year option picked up by Atlanta, and he knew he needed to have a better 2019 season than his previous two that saw average production. Well, he did just that with eight sacks, 42 combined tackles, 12 quarterback hits and two forced fumbles over 16 games. 

Giants head coach Joe Judge announced his coaching staff on Wednesday, filling in some blanks while weighing in on his new assistants.

"Everybody brings a different type of experience to the job. I didn't set out to hire anyone with former head coaching experience," Judge said while referring to Jason Garrett and Freddie Kitchens. "That ended up being a plus of what different guys brought to their area."

Here's the full breakdown of the Giants' coaching staff:

The Giants have made a slew of coaching hires since new head coach Joe Judge took over, and they're not quite done.

According to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM, the Giants are hiring Stephen Brown as an offensive assistant.

Brown had been with the Cowboys since before the 2016 season, when he was hired to assist with the coordination of the running game. He also served as a "point person" for then-head coach Jason Garrett on "research projects and day-to-day operations."

Due to NFL rules, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones hasn't been able to chat to his new offensive coordinator in Jason Garrett just yet about scheme.

So he did the next best thing, he talked to Garrett's last quarterback, Dak Prescott. 

Jones revealed he caught up with the Cowboys quarterback down in Miami during Super Bowl week and fired away some questions about his new OC. 

Pro Fooball Focus released their second mock ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft following Super Bowl LIV. In it, there's a doozy of a trade. 

The Dolphins jump ahead of the Giants, and in the process, potentially do the G-men a favor. 

In order to snag quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from Alabama, the Dolphins moved into the third pick in a trade with the Lions. Good news: The Giants don't need a quarterback with Daniel Jones under center.

With the 2019 season in the history book after the Chiefs' win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, the Giants and the Jets have some of the most salary cap to make their moves before next season. 

According to Spotrac, the Giants and Jets are both in the top 10 in terms of NFL teams with the most salary cap space heading into the offseason. 

The Jets round out the top 10, while the Giants slide in at No. 6. 

Joe Judge has another endorsement from a former player, as DE Kyle Van Noy had glowing remarks for him on the latest version of The Pat McAfee Show. 

Van Noy is heading into free agency after spending the past three and a half seasons with the Patriots. It was with New England that Van Noy got to see just how obsessed Judge is with the game. 

Rob Gronkowski called Judge "out of control," and that sort of energy is something Van Noy can definitely agree with. 

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There are still nearly three months to go until the NFL draft, and teams are a long ways away from having their draft meetings and finalizing their boards. It's too early to know anything, really, especially with the scouting combine still three weeks away.

But it's never too early to take a look, so here's a projection of how the first 11 picks of the 2020 NFL draft will go, including the picks for the Giants (at 4) and Jets (at 11). Their needs are easy to figure out, even it's still too difficult to zero in on the players:

1. Cincinnati Bengals - LSU QB Joe Burrow

Scott Thompson, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Giants GM Dave Gettleman has a plethora of options to work with at No. 4 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and that's mainly because there are holes left and right on his current roster.

One of the biggest to fill, though, is on the offensive line -- an area the Giants have been trying to shore up for years. 

With the Chiefs beating the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, the 2019-20 NFL season officially came to a close. And with the season over, it's time to look ahead to the 2020-21 season and Super Bowl LV, taking place on Feb. 7, 2021 in Tampa.

The Chiefs are the favorites to repeat, with the Ravens and 49ers right behind them.

As far as the Giants -- who finished the season 4-12 -- their odds are among the worst in the league.