He wasn’t just being funny. The truth is, no matter how optimistic Daboll might be about the Giants’ future, there’s a lot to do before they can even think about a Super Bowl again. They have a roster full of holes, particularly on the offensive line, and they have to dig out from under a massive salary cap mess. That, of course, will create even more holes.

So no, they’re probably not going to the Super Bowl next year.

But what happens this offseason could still be a significant step towards a future championship, and possibly even towards having an outside shot at the playoffs in 2022. New GM Joe Schoen said, “I’m not a big tear-it-up, rebuild (guy). I think you can truly build a roster when you can compete for today and build for tomorrow.” With the expanded playoff field, he could be right.

How? It won’t be easy. But here’s a blueprint for the Giants’ offseason for how they can navigate some of their biggest decisions without tearing apart their roster, and maybe even building a better team:

Make some hard cuts (and some that aren’t really so hard)

Schoen wants to clear $40 million off the Giants’ books because their salary cap problem is “a concern and it’s real.” There are some easy ones. Cutting TE Kyle Rudolph, P Riley Dixon, RB Devontae Booker, C Nick Gates, and TE Kaden Smith clears $14.5 million. Add in WR Sterling Shepard as a post-June 1 cut and the total grows to $23 million, and just like that Schoen is more than halfway there. Of course, he still needs to replace all those players, but in most cases, he can find better, cheaper alternatives.

Try to trade CB James Bradberry

This is a tough one because the pressure defense of new DC Don “Wink” Martindale needs good corners. And even though Bradberry had a down year last year, he’s still good and only 28. But his $21.9 million cap hit is just too much. Cutting him would clear $12.1 million (which, with the cuts above, would just about get Schoen to his $40 million mark).

But trading him clears the same $12.1 million and there is always a market for good corners. For a roadmap to a deal, look at the Darius Slay trade last March, when the Lions sent him to the Eagles for a third- and fifth-round pick. It was an almost identical situation and that should be the return the Giants expect.

They could clear space by extending his contract too, but it wouldn’t be nearly as much. Also, why would Bradberry want to do that when any trade would likely be to a contender willing to give him a new deal instead?

Get LB Blake Martinez to accept a big pay cut

This depends on how healthy he is coming off a torn ACL. But assuming he’ll be ready for camp, Martindale could use a smart leader in the middle of his defense, much like C.J. Mosley once was for him in Baltimore. They just can’t pay Martinez $8.425 million in salary coming off a serious knee injury. But rather than cut him, which would clear that entire amount, they could reduce his salary to, say, $2 million with some incentives, and maybe clear $6 million off the books. Then, the Giants get their leader and Martinez gets a chance to stay and prove his worth before hitting free agency next year.

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