Giants Restructure Andrew Thomas's Contract to Clear Cap Space

Here's where things stand with the salary cap, and what the move could mean.

Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (78) takes a water break during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants have restructured left tackle Andrew Thomas’s contract by converting $4.175M of his 2024 base salary ($14.175 million), into a signing bonus that opens $3.34 million in 2024 cap space.

The Giants have converted $4.175M of LT Andrew Thomas’ base salary into a signing bonus, creating $3.34M in 2024 cap space.

The team now has around $18M in cap space. Plenty of room to operate with.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 19, 2024

The restructure drops an additional $835,000 onto Thomas’s cap numbers from 2025 to 2028. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Giants now have around $18 million in cap space, a rather high figure as both Over the Cap and the NFLPA public cap report had the Giants at around $10 million of cap space prior to the transaction.

Before the move, the Giants were thought to have enough money to get them through most, if not all, of the upcoming season.

The decision to restructure Thomas’s deal now could suggest that the Giants are getting ready to acquire a veteran via trade or are anticipating a signing of a veteran out there on the street whose price was previously unaffordable.

The Giants could use additional help in their defensive backfield, where they have some injuries, including slot cornerback Dru Phillips, and outside corners David Long, Jr., and Cor'Dale Flott. Head coach Brian Daboll did not have an update on any of the injured players when he spoke to the media on Sunday via video conference call, and the team was off on Monday.

They could also be looking to add some new faces via the waiver wire, where they currently sit sixth in the claiming order.

Either way, the timing is curious as it was initially thought that Schoen would wait until next offseason to restructure Thomas’s contract if cap space was needed.