Joe Schoen Confident of Gaining Cap Space in Next Few Weeks

Editor's note: The following article was written and published before word of defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence's new four-year, $90 million contract extension. It has been edited accordingly to reflect the new developments.

At the start of the day on Thursday, all was not well with the New York Giants' salary cap space, which, per Over the Cap, has the Giants ranked dead last in their total ($149,649) and effective ($2,689,035) cap space amounts being in the red.

But things changed by the close of business as the Giants reached a new deal with defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on a four-year, $90 million extension.

“We have a couple of different options,” general manager Joe Schoen said in an interview Wednesday with SiriusXM NFL hosts Bob Papa and Charlie Weis when asked about the salary cap situation. “If we’re able to get something done with those guys, great. If not, we got Plan B, and we have some options there in terms of opening up cap space to get us through the season.

The most obvious was Lawrence, who, at his previous number of $12.4 million (his option year on his rookie deal), had the third-highest cap hit on the team, which the team accomplished on Thursday before their rookies came in for a weekend minicamp. Lawrence's new deal could open up as much as $6 million in cap space.

The Giants would also like to get something done with running back Saquon Barkley, who has a $10.1 million cap hit if he plays on the franchise tag. Schoen also indicated that the two sides would reconvene discussions, with the Giants checking in with Barkley's representation to see if they have come down on their request for a new contract or are standing pat.

If Barkley hasn't budged off a reported desire for him to earn upward of $15 million per year, the Giants are prepared to let him play on the tag absent a new long-term deal being reached by the July 17 deadline.

There is also a belief the Giants might try to extend Leonard Williams, who has a $32 million cap hit due to multiple past restructures leading to the inflated numbers. But that doesn't seem to be as big of a priority, at least from the outside looking in.

Some of the other lesser discussed options include extending cornerback Adoree'Jackson, who has an $11 million base salary due, cutting cornerback Darnay Holmes, which would result in a $2.473 million cap savings, or extending backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, thus lowering his $6.9 million cap hit of which $5.45 million is his base salary.

Of those options, the immediate one that makes sense is to extend Taylor if he's willing to agree. The Giants don't have an established backup quarterback on the roster beyond 2023.

While there appear to be plans to start grooming such a player this year, given Taylor's already strong knowledge of the system and how well he's respected in the locker room, extending him makes far too much sense.

Jackson has a voidable year in his contract next year. While he hasn't been horrible for the Giants, there is some belief that the team would like to get a little more out of him in game-changing plays.

Holmes, who saw his 2023 earnings jump due to play-time incentives built in by the league, is already facing an uphill battle to retain his roster spot. The thinking is that Deonte Banks and Adoree' Jackson will be the starters, don't he outside, with Aaron Robinson, Cor'Dale Flott, and Holmes competing for the slot cornerback role.

Robinson and Flott each have a height advantage (6-foot-1) over the 5-foot-10 Holmes, and each has a much lower cap number (Robinson is at $1.402 million and Flott at $1.191 million) in their respective favors.

But it would seem unlikely for the Giants to flat-out cut Holmes at this juncture without giving him a chance to compete. And again, if something gets done with Lawrence as anticipated, the Giants won't have to do anything with Holmes's contract for now.

“We’ll be in pretty good shape there over the next week or two,” Schoen concluded.

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