Joe Schoen didn’t hide from his biggest problem when he was named the new general manager of the Giants. He understands there are a lot of holes on the roster and he doesn’t have the resources to fill them.
The salary cap situation he inherited is, to put it mildly, a mess.
“It’s a concern,” Schoen said at his opening news conference. “And it’s real. There are going to be difficult decisions that are going to have to be made.”
In fact, there might be a lot of difficult decisions as the Giants try to get far enough under the salary cap of $208.2 million for 2022 not only to fill some of their holes, but just to be able to operate like a functioning NFL franchise.
They are currently projected to be about $10.7 million over the cap, once all contract escalators and bonuses are applied, according to OverTheCap.com. They will need to be under the cap by the start of free agency on March 16, just to comply with NFL rules.
And they can’t stop there. They also need to have cap space to use in free agency (which undoubtedly will be bargain-basement shopping), and for their draft class (a projected $12.5 million in cap space due to having nine picks and two in the Top 7). They also need to build a reserve just so they can have room to add players throughout the year.
And though it all doesn’t have to be done in the next six weeks, Schoen told NBC’s Peter King that he needs to clear about $40 million off the books in total.
That’s a lot, and since the Giants haven’t managed the cap well, they don’t have a lot of room to maneuver. They’ve already restructured so many contracts, there aren’t many left to rework. That means they’ll have to make some difficult cuts. But the problem with that is every time they cut someone, it leaves a hole on the roster they have to use cap space to fill. And cutting a bunch of bottom-of-the-roster players won’t make a dent in their problem.
In other words, some big names, and their big contracts, may have to go.
It’s hard to say which players Schoen will decide are indispensable, but he’s going to have to look at every player with a large deal. So here, with the help of OverTheCap.com, is a look at some of the possible players that would clear the most cap space for the Giants if they are let go:
It’ll be hard to cut their best corner, even after a down year. They could clear space by extending his deal, but it seems unlikely he’d accept that over a chance to be a free agent. The savings of cutting him might be too hard to overlook, since it would clear $12.1 million. It would leave nearly $10 million in “dead money” on the books, but the Giants can’t be concerned with dead money if they’re going to fix this mess.
The most interesting man on the list, and it depends whether the new regime views him as a No. 1 receiver or a wildly overpaid free agent who is always hurt. As a “post-June 1” cut, he’d clear $7.8 million off the books. The $13.4 million in dead money would hurt (plus another $7-10 million in 2023), but it might be for the best.
No way they can pay him $8.4 million in salary coming off a torn ACL. Cutting him saves $8.5 million. Would he be willing to take a big pay cut to stay and prove he’s healthy, so he can hit free agency again at age 29?
He gave new head coach Brian Daboll a big hug before his press conference on Monday. Might as well have been a good-bye hug. He never lived up to his four-year, $41 million contract and just can’t stay healthy. Now he’s a 29-year-old receiver coming off a torn Achilles. The Giants clear $8.5 million by designating him a post-June 1 cut.
A good player, team spokesman, captain, and leader, he’s likely not going anywhere, even though cutting him as a post-June 1 guy would clear $3.75 million. There is a little restructure room in his contract to clear maybe $3-4 million and keep him on the team, if they want.
An easy decision, since he’s 32, didn’t do much last year, and cutting him clears $5 million. The only complicating factor is the Giants need a tight end, since they can’t afford to re-sign Evan Engram.
His declining skills cost too much money. When he’s cut, it clears $2.8 million.
He may have been the Giants’ most productive back last season, but this is still Saquon Barkley’s team. They can clear $2.1 million by cutting him and bring in others as insurance.
This will happen because the Giants aren’t even sure he will play in 2022 after his gruesome leg injury. Cutting him clears $2.1 million. He can always re-sign a minimum deal if he’s healthy enough to come to camp.
He played really well last season, and with Jabrill Peppers unlikely to return, he has to stay. Still, cutting him would clear $2.5 million.
His strong rookie season is still so tantalizing, maybe he still has value in a better offensive scheme. Cutting Shepard probably saves him. But cutting him would clear $2.5 million.
They can clear $2.5 million by cutting a player with knee issues who hasn’t done a whole lot. Still, there is the lingering problem of: Who will play tight end?
