The clock continues to tick for Jason Sehorn, the Giants cornerback who is in extreme danger of not being a part of the team for much longer.
“I don’t want to say anything about Sehorn,” GM Ernie Accorsi said yesterday. “As soon as we have a final decision we should tell him first.”
Rampant speculation is that Sehorn will not be with the Giants long enough to collect the $1 million roster bonus he’s due on March 10. Scheduled to make $4.3 million this season (and $4 million in 2004), Sehorn is now viewed strictly as a No. 3 cornerback, supplanted by starters Will Allen and Will Peterson. For any chance to return, Sehorn would have to accept a massive cut in pay and the Giants may be more inclined to simply admit that their relationship with Sehorn has run its course.
Accorsi did not wish to engage in discussion about the significance of the March 10 date, saying, “By insinuating that’s a deadline for us is insinuating we’re not going to pay [the bonus].” But he did admit a decision will come “sooner rather than later.” The team plans on re-signing cornerback Kato Serwanga, who impressed the coaching staff in a brief stay at the end of last season.
There is little or no interest in the organization in moving Sehorn, who turns 32 on April 15, to free safety. In his nine years with the Giants, Sehorn nearly became a star on the field (he emerged as a star off the field), but his athleticism has been ravaged by repeated major injuries to his right knee. If the Giants cut him before June 1 – which is the likely scenario – he’ll cost them about $6.7 million against this year’s salary cap.
Another veteran in danger of being cut is center Dusty Zeigler, who missed all but two games last season because of a knee injury similar to Sehorn’s.