Giants GM Joe Schoen Says Resolution Could Be Coming Soon on James Bradberry

The months-long saga involving Giants cornerback James Bradberry could be headed toward a conclusion by the end of this week.

That's the word from Giants general manager Joe Schoen, who, during an interview with WFAN's Craig Carton and Evan Roberts, said the team expects to come to a resolution by the end of the week.

"Yeah, we're working through that right now," Schoen said on Wednesday. "His agents have been great; we've been in constant communication. I've talked to James--it's been very professional throughout the whole process. We should have some resolution hopefully by the end of the week."

Schoen inherited a horrible cap situation after being hired as the Giants new general manager. This problem has forced him to cut players and, in some cases, restructure deals to get enough operating room to make the necessary personnel changes to get the team back on the right track.

Unfortunately, some moves he's had to make involve solid players like Bradberry, who made the Pro Bowl in 2020, his first season with the Giants, and who has otherwise been a solid cornerback for New York.

Bradberry, who currently carries a $21,863,889 cap hit for 2022, represents the second-largest percentage (10.6 percent) on the Giants cap, behind defensive lineman Leonard Williams (11.7 percent). The Giants tried to find a trade partner for the 29-year-old, but between his $13.4 million base salary combined with the fact he is in the final year of his deal (not counting the voidable year the Giants tacked on as part of a restructure made last year), has made it difficult.

"I thought there would be more interest that there were some teams that showed interest pre-draft," Schoen said when asked if he was surprised there wasn't more interest around the league in Bradberry. "We had a couple of different times when there was compensation in place, and the contract never worked out."

The Giants were so desperate to move on from Bradberry's contract that there were reports of them willing to absorb some of his $13.4 million base salary to sweeten the deal for an acquiring team.

"Sometimes if you're gonna renegotiate and you couldn't come to an agreement, it is what it is," Schoen said.

With the Giants only having $6.2 million of cap space and needing at least $12.6 million to sign their draft class, Schoen identified Bradberry's contract as needing to be adjusted if not removed from the books.

"That's unfortunate because he's a great kid," Schoen told Roberts and Carton. "I know a lot about him. When I was in Buffalo, (Bills general manager) Brandon Bean and (Bills head coach) Sean McDermot, when in Carolina when they drafted him, and have always spoken very highly of the kid."

But tough times call for tough decisions, and while Schoen and the Giants have explored every avenue to arrive at a solution best for the player and for the team (including converting some of his base salary to a signing bonus and spreading that over additional voidable years), the situation has apparently played out to a point where it's time for both sides to go their separate ways.

Schoen, whose draft haul included LSU cornerback Cor'Dale Flott, selected in the third round, and head coach Brian Daboll would have a sizable hole if they moved on from Bradberry. But that hole could potentially be filled by second-year man Aaron Robinson, who, like Bradberry, is 6-foot-1.

"We are excited about him, just getting to know him, getting to see him move around the last couple of weeks," Schoen said of Robinson after the second day of the draft concluded last week.

"I'm not going to make any predictions or anything in terms of playtime or any of that. We've still got a long way to go, but he's definitely going to be competing for a starting job."

As for Bradberry, the Giants apparently don't want to drag out the situation any longer than need be, perhaps out of fairness to the player, who, if he's released by the end of the week, would have time to catch on with another team before training camps start in July.

"Listen, he's a starting corner in the league," Schoen said of Bradberry. "It's just where we are financially. We still gotta sign our draft picks. We've gotta be able to sign our practice squad and then replacement costs during the season."

The Giants, if they cut Bradberry, would be on the hook for $11,727,778 in dead money, according to Over the Cap. That total includes $2 million of the cornerback's 2022 base salary that became guaranteed back in March (but for which they'd receive a cap credit toward 2023).

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