Nate Solder earned two Super Bowl rings before opting for free agency and signing with the Giants. Photo by Jeffrey Beall

NFL offensive tackle Nate Solder has been to four Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in his seven years in the League and won two of them (XLIX, LI).

When you are 29 years old and have those rings in your trophy case, it is OK to look after yourself , your family and future.

Solder hasn’t made a Pro Bowl but who cares after the New York Giants made Solder the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL when they signed the 6-foot-8, 325 pound Denver, Colorado native to a four-year, $62 million contract with $35 million guaranteed.

On a conference call shortly after the March 15 signing, Solder was asked if there is pressure in being the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman. If there is, it’s in ensuring he spreads his wealth to those he can help. A religious man, Solder has overcome testicular cancer, and his two-year-old son, Hudson, is undergoing treatment for kidney cancer.

“No, this is all very surreal,” said Solder, who was drafted in the first round of the 2011 draft (17 overall). “But I think it’s a shame on me if the money only helps the Solder family. My belief is that this money has been entrusted to me not for the personal comfort and security, but for an actual impact that we can have on our community and the people around us. I’m just such an imperfect person — I’m going to make mistakes, so I have to rely on Jesus.
“We have all through our suffering with our son and everything that goes on in life, so we have to do the same thing with our rejoicing and when things are going well, we have to rely on him,” Solder continued. “But by God’s grace if we joyfully look forward to the momentary impact for the New York Giants, a lifetime of impact on our communities and an eternal impact for the kingdom of God, me and my family could not be more thankful and excited, so it’s just a great time. Like you said, no, I couldn’t have ever expected this, but we believe that it’s God’s wishes, not ours, to make the impact in our communities — for the kingdom, for people that are less fortunate for us. It’s nothing about us having a bigger house, a nicer car, anything like that. So like I said, shame on me if it’s just about us.”

Solder was asked how his son was doing.

“He’s doing awesome, really awesome,” he said. “We’re so thankful. He has one more treatment left and tentatively they’re going to do scans, they’re going to do different things to see if they can remove [the problem]. So maybe for now he’ll be done with chemo and they do that all very conservatively because they know that things can change and it’s never over, but we’re all very encouraged and very excited with the way his treatments have gone.”

Solder has started 93 of the 96 game he has played for the Patriots. He has been the starter in 2012 following the retirement of long time starting left tackle Matt Light.

Like most of New England’s lineman he has only played for the Patriots.

Solder was asked if there such a thing as the ‘Patriots Way’ and if so, what is it and are you going to bring that to the Giants? Solder was not going to be drawn into comparisons.

“I’m going to worry about one thing and that’s taking care of my business,” he said. “I’m going to do the best I can to play football, love all my teammates, do the best I can in everything that I do, try to improve every day and I don’t put any quotations marks around that. That’s just the way that I’ve done it before and that’s the way that I’m going to do my best to continue to do it.”

Solder was asked to talk about the timeline of how he came to his decision to leave Tom Brady and the Patriots.

“Yeah, so it was a tough decision,” Solder said. “There were three really good teams that were kind of in the running and it came down to a couple things. The money was all somewhat equal and it just came down to where my family was going to be most comfortable. My wife’s family lives here, this organization is incredible, just the reputation that we know and the reputation that precedes them. At about 2 AM we kind of worked out a deal and kind of took our time figuring out what we’re going to do and we’re so fortunate to be where we’re at.”

Solder said his wife’s family is from Southbury, Connecticut, “so not too far — maybe an hour.”

It is no secret the Giants offensive line has struggled over the last few seasons. He was asked if he was the key to fixing the line.

“Well, I think that it’s going to be a whole group effort,” Solder said. “I don’t think one particular player is going to change the whole thing, so with everyone that is already there that I know and anyone that is coming in, we’re just going to have to work as hard as we can. It’s going to be an uphill process and that’s not saying anything about the past, it’s just that the NFL is a difficult, difficult league and we’re going to have to be the best that we can be to perform at a high level.”

Ereck Flowers was the ninth overall pick in the draft in 2015 out of the University of Miami, and any player at any position picked that high is not only expected to start but to have and impact on the overall success with the team.

Flowers got the first part right – he has started all 46 games he has played in. But the word but comes up almost every time Flowers name is brought buy NFL analysts.

Solder was asked if he would mentor Flowers who is most likely to get the nod at right tackle now that Bobby Hart is gone.

“I’m excited to get to play with him and all those guys because he’s a talented guy,” said Solder, who played his high school ball at Buena Vista in Colorado. “All the decisions and all the coaching and all that sort of thing, I leave that up to the coaches. I’m going to be the best I can to do what I can — lead by example and it’s a group effort. Like I said, it’s not going to be one player, so I don’t have the mentality that I’m going to come in and make this huge impact, change the culture and all this kind of stuff. I’m just coming in to play football and be myself and do what I can.” *
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Other roster moves by the Giants (from team press releases):

The Giants added both skill and experience to their offensive backfield when they signed Jonathan Stewart, who spent his first 10 NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

In Charlotte, Stewart worked with Giants general manager Dave Gettleman and offensive coordinator Mike Shula.

“I am very pleased that we were able to make Jonathan a New York Football Giant,” said Gettleman. “He is a quality runner with power and speed and brings a veteran, professional presence to our locker room. He’s a terrific addition for us at this time.”

Orleans Darkwa, the Giants’ leading rusher in 2017, is a free agent, as is Shane Vereen. The team also has Wayne Gallman, who ran for 476 yards as a rookie last season, and third-year man Paul Perkins.
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The Giants added offensive lineman Patrick Omameh, who played the last two seasons for Jacksonville, and defensive back Curtis Riley, who was previously with the Tennessee Titans.

Omameh, 6-4 and 327 pounds, has played in 53 regular-season games with 44 starts for Tampa Bay, Chicago, and the Jaguars. He has started 24 games at right guard, 20 at left guard, and one as an extra tackle. Omameh also has three postseason starts at left guard.

In 2017, Omameh started all 16 games in which played – including three in the postseason – at left guard for Jacksonville, which lost to New England in the AFC Championship Game. He was inactive for three games from Nov. 19-Dec. 3 with a knee injury.

Omameh, a three-year starter at Michigan, entered the NFL in 2013 as a rookie free agent with San Francisco.

Riley, 6-0 and 190 pounds, played in 11 games the previous two seasons for Tennessee. In seven games last season, he had 11 tackles (seven solo), one interception, and one special teams tackle. Riley intercepted a Blake Bortles pass at Jacksonville on Sept. 17, and had a career-high four solo tackles at Houston on Oct. 1.

Riley, who played his final two seasons of collegiate football at Fresno State, was signed as an undrafted free agent by Tennessee on 2015. He spent that season on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Riley made his NFL debut on special teams at Miami on Oct. 9, 2016.
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The Giants’ offseason overhaul continued today when they added two players who previously played for other teams and retained one of their own.

The returning player is defensive end Kerry Wynn, while the newcomers are wide receiver Cody Latimer and cornerback B.W. Webb.

Wynn has played four seasons for the Giants since joining the team in 2014 as a rookie free agent from Richmond.

The 6-5, 264-pounder has played in 49 regular-season games with 10 starts. His career totals include 91 tackles (58 solo), 3.0 sacks, three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Wynn had one tackle in the 2016 NFL Wild Card Game.

In 2017, Wynn played in 15 games with three starts at right defensive end when Olivier Vernon was sidelined with an ankle injury. He was inactive for the Nov. 5 game vs. the Rams after suffering his own ankle injury. He finished the season with 14 tackles (10 solo) and 1.0 sack (vs. Detroit on Sept. 18). He also had five special teams tackles.

Latimer, 6-2 and 215 pounds, played his first four NFL seasons for the Denver Broncos. He played in 45 regular-season games with three starts and had 35 receptions for 445 yards (12.7-yard avg.) and three touchdowns. Latimer also averaged 24.4 yards on 18 kickoff returns.

Latimer had three receptions in three postseason games when the 2015 Broncos won Super Bowl 50.

In 2017, Latimer played in 11 games, starting one. He finished with career-high totals of 19 receptions, 287 yards and two touchdowns. Latimer missed three games early in the season with patella tendinitis in his right knee and the season’s final two contests with a thigh injury.

Latimer was selected by Denver in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the 56th overall choice. At Indiana University, he caught 135 passes for 2,042 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Webb, 5-11 and 190 pounds, did not play in a regular-season game in 2017. He was on the Cleveland Browns’ roster for one game in December but was inactive.

From 2013-16, Webb was a member of four teams in four seasons. He played 15 games his rookie season for the Dallas Cowboys, who selected him on the fourth round of the 2013 draft (114th overall) out of William & Mary. He was credited with 12 tackles (nine solo) and four special teams tackles that season.

Webb was waived at the end of training camp in 2014 and was awarded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, for whom he played 11 games (plus one postseason game). He had two special teams tackles.

Released again at the final cutdown, Webb was signed to the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad on Sept. 9, 2015, and to their active roster on Nov. 7. He played in nine games with two starts for the Titans and finished with 22 tackles (20 solo). He picked up his first career interception (off Drew Brees at New Orleans on Nov. 8).

Webb was released by the Titans on Sept. 2, 2016, and signed with the New Orleans Saints 11 days later. He played in 14 games with eight starts for the Saints and finished the season with career-high totals of 30 tackles (25 solo) and an interception.

Last year, Webb was with the Chicago Bears in training camp and the Browns in December. He was released by Cleveland on March 15.