The Giants restructured Nate Solder's contract and picked up $5 million in cap space, as Tom Pelissaro of NFL Network first reported Saturday.

SNY's Ralph Vacchiano confirmed the move, which took $7.5 million of Solder's base salary and turned it into a full guaranteed roster bonus.

The 6-foot-8, 325-pound left tackle is set to receive $13 million in 2019 and 2020, followed by $14 million in 2021.

The Giants restructuring Solder's contract -- a four-year, $62 million deal signed in 2018 -- is a simple move many NFL teams do to improve cap situations.

The move does not hinder the 31-year-old Solder, whose money is redistributed on paper for cap purposes, according to Vacchiano.

For the Giants, the restructured contract clears the $5 million in space in 2018, but the cap hit now increases by $2.5 million for both 2020 and 2021.

If the Giants were to release Solder at the end of the season, the restructured contract increases New York's "dead money" from $8 million to $13 million.

Clearly, though, the idea of Solder's release is a scenario that the Giants are unlikely to do.

After seven years as quarterback Tom Brady's blind-side protector with the New England Patriots, Solder became the Giants' starting left tackle in 2018, an effort to rebuild the offensive line for quarterback Eli Manning.

Solder started all 16 games for the Giants in 2018, rated by Pro Football Focus as the league's No. 21 offensive tackle.

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