Nick Gates’ three-year free agent agreement with the NFC East rival Washington Commanders isn’t surprising considering how close he was to not being a Giant last season. Gates had tears in his eyes in the Giants’ locker room early in the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 6. Quarterback Daniel Jones crossed the room, hugged him and said a few private words. Gates had been informed just days before the team’s Week 1 opener in Tennessee that he was going to be released. He was still rehabbing from his devastating 2021 compound leg fracture.