An Updated Giants Salary Cap Cut Plan

New York has to get under the salary cap, and general manager Joe Schoen said that they expect to have some decisions made by the end of the week. Here is our updated look at what some of those decisions could be.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Mar 2, 2022 12:16 PM EST

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New York Giants

Before Giants general manager Joe Schoen can even begin talking about trades or free agency, he's going to need to clear salary cap space--and a lot of it.

The Giants, according to Over the Cap, are currently listed as being $24,779,036 in the red in effective cap space (what they need to fit under the Top 51 rule that begins on March 16, the first day of the new league year, and are $12,204,020 in the red in total cap space.

That means there will have to be a lot of manipulation, including some cuts, as part of what Schoen said will be "tough decisions" for the Giants to get some breathing room.

"We’ll start making those soon," Schoen said at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. "We’re still meeting... It’s kind of, 'If this happens then this.'"

Schoen said the plan was to meet with some of the agents of those players this week--the agents are in town for their annual meeting in addition to accompanying their clients who are attending the combine--to discuss their options, which may include contract restructures.

What Might They Do?

At the end of January, I created a plan to clear over $40 million in cap space for the Giants, as shown in the table below.

Original Salary Cap Figures via OvertheCap.com. — Original Salary Cap Figures via OvertheCap.com

While I still believe that most of the plan I outlined will come to fruition, I have adjusted one projection to allow for the possibility that James Bradberry will be kept on the roster (though it will have to be at a lower amount).

I have also included some additional moves that weren't initially included in the first article that I was on the fence about due to my having not started my draft study at the time.

And at the end of my modifications to this plan, I will include an updated spreadsheet to reflect the potential savings.

CB James Bradberry

Bradberry is due to count for a whopping $21,863,889 against the cap, the second-highest hit after defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

In my initial plan, I thought perhaps the team would flat out cut him or, at the very least, look to trade him, the savings being the same if it's a pre-June 1 move.

Bradberry, who will get $2 million of his P5 (base) salary guaranteed if he is on the roster as of March 17, is still among the top cornerbacks in the league despite last year's "down" year.

He's also not that far removed from his 2020 Pro Bowl season, and he's been the picture of durability since signing with the Giants--the only game he missed was in 2020 when he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after coming in close contact with someone who had tested positive.

The Giants need to decide is if there is a draft prospect that offers more than Bradberry. And that's where the "vision box" concept, which general manager Joe Schoen learned in Buffalo with Brandon Beane, comes into play.

“In the vision box, you tell me how that player compares to anybody on our roster," Schoen said, per the New York Post. “So, don’t just tell me he’s a fourth tackle; that doesn’t mean anything. Is he a fourth tackle that makes the team? Is he a fourth tackle that beats out [Giants offensive lineman Matt] Peart? Compare it to our roster."

Then there is the matter of how the board projects to fall. Suppose the Giants have a realistic chance at getting one of offensive tackles Evan Neal (Alabama) or Ikem Ekwonu (North Carolina State) at No. 5. In that case, it's hard to imagine they'd eschew such an opportunity to draft a cornerback.

Short of cutting Bradberry--and one would have to expect that if the Giants think they can do better in the draft, they'd at least try to see if there is a market for the veteran cornerback--it is safe to assume Bradberry's current cap hit will be adjusted if the plan is to keep him.

So let's look at the numbers. Cutting Bradberry straight out means a $12,136,111 and a $9,727,778 dead money cap hit to a pool that currently stands at $4,290,069 after the remainder of Nate Solder's $4 million prorated signing bonus hit the cap last month.

But what if the Giants restructured Bradberry, who has a voidable year in 2023 and only a modest $1,363,889 dead money cap hit? Although Schoen has said that he doesn't want to kick the can down the road, this year, he might have no choice with a couple of contracts if he's to get the Giants' cap back to a picture of health.

Here, then is a proposed restructure of Bradberry's deal.

Proposed James Bradberry restrucutre:. Over the Cap Contract Construction Tool.

I've cut $8 million off Bradberry's $13.4 million base (P5) salary. I converted $6 million into a signing bonus, and $2 million roster bonus to help lessen the dead money in the voidable year. He will also be able to collect his $2 million guaranteed money on his base salary, as I left enough there in the new P5 figure to cover that clause.

This maneuver results in roughly a $3 million savings and gets Bradberry, whose current cap hit accounts for over 10 percent of the team's 2022 cap, more in line with the league-wide average of the top-10 highest cap hits at cornerback ($19,354,047).

OL Nick Gates

I initially didn't have Gates on my cut list, which, to be frank, was an oversight on my part.

Gates, as we know, is recovering from a severely broken leg suffered early last season. While each person's recovery is different, if we look back to when offensive lineman Richie Seubert suffered his broken leg, it took him nearly two years to finally get back on the playing field.

There is a slim chance that Gates will be ready for the start of the season, but realistically the Giants have to prepare as though he won't be given the severity of his injury. Unfortunately, that means cutting Gates, who is in the final year of his contract, to recognize a $2.125 million savings with $879,167 of dead money hitting the ledger.

Let Gates continue to recover, and if he's able to pass a physical down the line, the team could always re-sign him to a new deal at a lesser amount.

TE Kaden Smith

Kaden Smith finished the 2021 season on injured reserve with a knee issue. While it's not known where Smith is in his recovery or if he had season-ending surgery, the Giants can probably exercise another procedural move right now in which they cut Smith's $2.54 million salary from the books (no dead money!).

If he's able to pass a physical as we get closer to camp, re-sign him to a new deal if they want him back.

WR Darius Slayton

I also didn't have Slayton on my list because, at the time, I hadn't started my draft preview work. Now that I'm several weeks into that, I think the Giants can safely move on from Slayton, whose production has declined every year--and at an alarming rate, no less.

Slayton is in the final year of his rookie deal and will count for $2,598,721 against the cap. The Giants can likely replace him with a Day 3 pick at a much lower rate and would save $2.54 million while only having to eat $58,721 in dead money in the process.

What the New Plan Looks Like

Red indicates additions since inital plan; yellow highlighted text indicates moves that have been made as of March 2, 2022.

Final Thoughts

In my first attempt, you'll notice that I was able to clear a little more money by cutting James Bradberry rather than restructuring him.

With my second attempt, I still hit the magic number of $40 million while also accomplishing the objectives of keeping the dead money for 2023 reasonable. And I wasn't too far off my original projected savings.

The bottom line is that if the Giants and the agents of those players with whom they're going to meet can't arrive at a conclusion that's in both parties best interests, Schoen said the team would move on.

"There’s a lot of contingency plans that weigh on some of the decisions that we’re going to make," he said. "Sooner than later, we’ll start making the necessary moves to get under the salary cap and start planning for the 2022 season."