Why the Giants invested in CB Greg Newsome with a $46 million contract extension, with $32 million guaranteed

Greg Newsome II didn’t wait long to integrate himself with his new Giants teammates. After being signed in the offseason, he started organizing dinners with the other defensive backs.

It grew into a weekly thing during the season. Every Thursday, the group meets somewhere new. Newsome usually is in the middle of planning it.

“It’s just us being brothers off the field,” Newsome told Newsday. “How close you are off the field, you’re able to do better on the field just knowing the guys’ personality and things like that.”

The dinner this week might have been more celebratory; Newsome recently signed a three-year, $46 million contract extension, with $32 million guaranteed. He was on a one-year, prove-it deal, and now, six games into his Giants tenure, the cornerback has stability.

It speaks to how much the secondary has improved from being a weakness last year. Entering Sunday’s game against the Eagles in Philadelphia, the Giants are third in passing defense and fourth in yards allowed per passing attempt (5.91).

Newsome’s passer rating when targeted is 58.6, according to Next Gen Stats. That’s the sixth lowest among players with at least 30 targets. He also has played a role in the Giants’ NFL lead in percent of drives that end in a three-and-out (32.9%).

Add in the team being ninth in total defense and it was easy to make the decision to lock in Newsome.

Like cornerback Deonte Banks, he was a former first-round pick looking to reclaim his reputation, and both are doing that for a Giants team sitting in first place in the NFC East at 4-2-1.

“The biggest thing with us was just proving ourselves right,” Newsome said. “I said it from the first time that we had the best secondary, and everybody was laughing. But I knew the talent that we had, and like I said in the beginning, it was just how tight we are as a room.”

Newsome has played a role in that. The group often will watch Thursday Night Football at a different restaurant, and it was Newsome who made sure everyone made time for it.

For Dru Phillips, it made Newsome feel like the social glue among the defensive backs.

“He finds ways to bring us together in ways that just hasn’t been done,” Phillips said. “Like he’s just that guy here. When that [contract] news came out, we’re all happy, but none of us were surprised. He just earned it.”

Newsome’s success is a credit to coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson revamping the defense. With two new starters at cornerback from last year, it’s been less of a liability and more of a strength alongside safety Jevon Holland.

Newsome earned respect among the position group. The dinners brought them closer, but his play and positive energy backed those actions up.

“We didn’t really have a leader. It was like a nucleus; we’re all feeding off each other,” cornerback Nic Jones said. “So a guy like Greg, who we look to as a leader, him and Jevon, we like when guys take those reins and pull guys along with them.”

Newsome said the dinners were something he brought over from his time in Cleveland. Safety John Johnson and cornerback Denzel Ward organized them for the Browns.

The meals also made it easier for Newsome to be a great communicator in meetings and assert himself when things need to be called out.

“When it’s time to have constructive criticism, no one takes it personal because we’re all brothers,” Newsome said. “If I need to say something to somebody, they’re not going to take it personal because we eat together, laugh together, we do everything together.”

It’s why the Giants were wise to lock him up long term. The question now is whether Banks will earn the same treatment entering free agency this winter. His play has been a revelation, given that his fifth-year option wasn’t picked up, and now he could be in line for a payday.

There’s also Paulson Adebo. The Giants’ highest-paid free-agent signee before the 2025 season has been relegated to the bench. It’s highly possible the Giants will waive him in the offseason, which could free up more money for Banks.

It’s why Newsome earned his money now. He’s been connecting his teammates off the field and made them more connected on it with an improved secondary.

“He gravitates to them or they gravitate to him,” Wilson said. “It’s organic. It’s hard to explain what he’s really doing. He’s just being himself. He’s being Greg Newsome, and guys love being around Greg Newsome.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.