New Diehl means hefty raise

David Diehl made the shift to left tackle last season. Now he’s being paid like a left tackle, too. The Giants recently made the 27-year-old Diehl a very rich man, tearing up his old contract and signing him to a new six-year, $31 million deal. The details were first reported by ESPN’s John Clayton, whose story can be found right here . It’s a significant move for the Giants, because Diehl had only completed two years of the six-year, $15.5 million extension he signed back in 2005. They could have let him play out that pact until it expired in 2011. Instead, they recognized that he had moved from guard to left tackle, where he replaced the departed Luke Petitgout at the beginning of last season. And left tackle is a significantly higher-profile position that in the NFL usually commands a significantly higher salary. He was making an average of $2.58 million per season. Now he’ll average $5.17 million. Diehl, who has played and started in 86 consecutive games for the Giants - every ... (link)