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New York Giants Mailbag: Salary Cap, Roster Moves and a Whole Lotta Stuff

It's our biggest New York Giants reader mailbag of the year. No matter what might be on your mind, chances  are we have it in this edition!
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Mailbag: Salary Cap, Roster Moves and a Whole Lotta Stuff
New York Giants Mailbag: Salary Cap, Roster Moves and a Whole Lotta Stuff

You guys and gals rock.

Seriously, this is by far our largest reader mailbag on the site, and all of the questions were so fantastic that I think (hope) i got them all in this one mailbag (some questions did overlap, but I acknowledged y'all.)

Reminder: If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please send it to nygiantsmaven@gmail.com.

Thanks for the question, Eric (and Ashley, who asked a similar question). I could devote an entire article just to this question alone (hey, in fact, I did just that!), but I’ll give you the digest version.

We can start with the 8% decrease in the cap that no one saw coming as a reason, though that doesn’t explain why eight teams made it work. Before we even got to that point, consider a few facts…

1. The Giants overspent on some contracts (Nate Solder) out of desperation, and those contracts are coming back to haunt them.

2. Up until really last year, the Giants contract structures consisted of P5, a prorates signing bonus, a workout bonus, and maybe some incentives.

That prorated signing bonus has become like a pair of cement shoes when the team looks to unload contracts and free up money. Last year though, the Giants started putting roster bonuses into play to ease the stress of the signing bonuses. Roster bonuses make what looks like a multi-year player contract turn into a series of one-year contracts, which is how it was meant to be.

3. Overpaying for depth. I’m still trying to figure out why, for example, Levine Toilolo got the contract he did, considering he barely played on offense.

I did a quick culling of information ahead of my appearance on ESPN Radio Wednesday night with Anita Marks, and I specifically looked at the Giants' top-5 cap hits and their top 10. The conclusion? The Giants are, in my opinion, too top-heavy, and that’s a problem. (You can see the table below.)

As of Wednesday night, their top five biggest cap hits averaged $14.67 million per player or 39.5% of their total cap. Their top 10 averaged just a tad less, $11.064 million or 59.7% of the total cap.

Now, these numbers aren’t horrible if the team was on stable ground. But the problem with the Giants, as I see it is they've tried to straddle the line of "rebuild mode" and "we can compete.” I don't think you can successfully straddle that line.  

You’re either rebuilding, or you’re ready to roll things out to compete. If you look at some of the other teams around the league, like the Bucs and the Browns, those were teams that made the sacrifice to stand fully in the rebuild mode while accumulating the necessary pieces to finally be able to compete.  

The Giants, as I see it, have struggled to accept their identity after their last Super Bowl. The bad drafts killed them and brought about some unhealthy spending habits. 

Once Dave Gettleman came to terms with what the Giants were--and that didn't happen until his second year as general manager--he appears to be operating smarter. 

The problem, though, is the Giants have a way to go before they can cross from that "rebuild" mode to that "ready to compete" territory. So we'll see what the upcoming free agency period brings.

As for what move I see for the offense and defense, if the Giants are smart, they try to add some low-cost veteran players who were cut from their teams and who won't count against the comp pick formula next year. 

Moves are still being made, so I can't give you any names until I get more into my study, but that would be one way I'd approach things.

What’s up J? I want to make it clear that I absolutely, truly believe the Giants need a No. 1 receiver. But I don't think it's a matter of robbing Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes. 

Here is what I don’t understand about the rumors of them planning to make a play for Kenny Golladay. 

The receiver class in this draft is LOADED with talent. Does it make sense to splurge on a top-end receiver in free agency whose contact could potentially choke your cap down the line when you can probably get someone compatible in the draft and at a lower cost?

Obviously the Giants want to see what they have in Daniel Jones and they are aware they need to surround him with better talent. I get that. 

I also get the fact the Giants only have six picks in this draft and probably won’t be in a position to move around unless they commit to dipping into next year’s haul.

So I'm curious to see what they do here. I question if the Giants will be able to compete for Golladay, but if they can pull it off, more power to them,

From Thomas C.

Patty, Patty. Please help me understand why the Giants are so intent on bringing back Nate Solder, who was awful in 2019?

Tommy, my man, what’s good with you? (Note: Adam Z. also asked a similar question.) First, I’ll confess to being somewhat surprised the Giants, at least not that we know of, haven't taken the Drew Brees approach with Nate Solder.

Having done some thinking—I always try to see both sides of the argument—what I believe the Giants are trying to do is get something for the money that’s already on the books for Solder. 

If anyone forgot, that money is $10 million pre-June 1 dead money hit or $6 million post-June 1 this year and $4 million next year. That’s a lot to have to eat and have nothing to show for it.

My guess here is that the Giants, who need a swing tackle and who appear to be planning to move on from Cam Fleming, view Solder as that swing tackle and a guy who could help challenge Matt Peart for the starting right tackle spot while also serving as a veteran presence on a young offensive line.

Of course, the caveat here is that Solder’s base salary needs to come down—way down. One way is to give Solder a deal similar to what Cam Fleming got last year ($1,5 million), which is slightly more than the minimum for a player with Solder’s accrued service.

What I think makes sense is you lower his base to the veteran minimum (($1.075 million) so that if he has to play more, I believe he becomes eligible for the performance escalators that the CBA provides for players who “out play” their contract earnings.

Hi James. I outlined in this article what I would do if I'm the Giants (basically the "Drew Brees approach). I think this approach will enable the Giants to get some immediate cap relief if the two sides  reunite this year.

Hey Peter. Dupree, per Spotrac, has an $18.2 million APY market value. Could the Giants realistically sign him? Yes, but don't count on them being able to bring back Dalvin Tomlinson.

The Associated Press ran an article detailing how the Titans tried to fix their pass rush last year through free agency only to have the plan backfire. Besides a "buyer beware" warning, sometimes free agency isn't always the way to go at certain spots.

What’s happening, Oscar? I don’t think Gettleman’s desire to keep guys on flat contracts necessarily has anything to do with whether he’s here next year or not. 

Simply put, it’s smart business--you don’t want to restructure guys unless you have to as that’s what helps middle your cap. 

I think the fact Gettleman did that when he first arrived here--Alec Ogletree and Rhett Ellison come to mind--are part of the lessons that Gettleman learned.

With that said, as I have already noted, this year is a little different. The cap is presumably going to rebound from the dip it took from the pandemic. 

That means you’re going to have more space in future years to where if you need to trim off dead weight, you’re in a better position to absorb dead money. So I wouldn't preclude making a few of those moves (and in fact he has, starting with the Zeitler transaction).

Hey SkiFam. No, I don’t do that. This team has way too many needs, and not enough draft picks to where they can afford to double-dip at tight end this year—and I say that with the disclaimer that I am very bullish on Freiermuth. However, I don’t see him and Pitts being in the same neighborhood skillset-wise. 

What’s up, Tony? As you undoubtedly know, I ran an article on this that ran yesterday specific to what the Browns have done to get themselves on the right track.

Simply put, it’s a matter of cost and production. You get draft picks who fit your systems, and you spend the time developing them while they’re on the cheap rookie deal.

Then after a couple of years, if you’re on top of things, you identify which talent you want to retain, and you try to get them signed early, so you don’t end up having to clog your cap.

If you go the blockbuster free-agent route, that rarely works because rarely do those players see the end of their contract for one (which results in gobs of dead money dumped into the cap), and for two, it’s just not sustainable.

Remember the Eagles Dream Team, and what a disaster that was? A former personnel guy once described that approach to me as "building the foundation of your franchise on sand instead of concrete."

He also told me you not only want to build on concrete, but you want to have a say over what brand you use and what you spend on it.

How’s it going, Christopher? I’d say the jury is still out on Jason Garrett. I mean, if we’re going to sit here and agree that Daniel Jones didn’t have a solid supporting cast around him, isn’t it fair to say the same thing about Garrett and what he was able to call? 

That said, I found it interesting that head coach Joe Judge promoted Freddie Kitchens to a senior offensive assistant. 

I'm curious to learn more about how that dynamic is going to work, especially since it was thought that all the coaches contributed to the weekly game plan anyway.

I've learned to never say never, but in this case, I think I would be floored if Jabrill Peppers is a cap casualty. I can see why you'd think that, though.

As I’ve noted so many times before, this team finally has a terrific trio of safeties which happen to now be the strength of the team. Unless the coaching staff views Peppers and McKinney as identical, then why contemplate breaking up the band? 

And to Ashley, who asked about cutting Peppers and Evan Engram to sign Dalvin Tomlinson, I don’t think that would happen because you'd be creating a hole on your roster. Unless you have a backup plan to fill it, it makes zero sense to cut a guy unless he brings it upon himself. 

In the case of Engram, if the Giants were assured of getting Kyle Pitts, maybe I could see that making sense, but they’re not, so I don’t think the Giants are going to cut him right now.

What’s up, PJ? I definitely see the Giants drafting a running back on Day 3, if for no other reason than the fact that all their backs with experience except for Saquon are headed to free agency. I’m not sure it makes sense to bring any of them back unless they’re willing to do a minimum veteran salary benefit.

Hey Richard, thanks for checking in. Help me understand something. Why do people think the Giants are trading Saquon?

 Further, why do people think that right now, ANYONE is going to trade for Saquon until he gets on the field and shows that he’s fully recovered from his surgery and is his old self?

Seriously, let’s pump the brakes on this "trade Saquon talk" for the time being until we see what he looks like post-surgery. Then we can try to figure out what they might be able to get from him if they do decide to trade him.

From Kevin C.

I think the Giants are making a mistake by prioritizing the re-signing of Leonard Williams. He had a great 2020 season, but before that he had been a career underachiever. Why should we assume that he will continue to perform at such a high level? If they can re-sign him in a fiscally responsible way, that's fine.

But to throw away any chance at keeping Tomlinson--their most consistent defensive lineman--while also using up a huge chunk of cap space that they could be using to improve in many ways, is poor management. 

Hey Kevin, thanks for the email. I’m sorry, but I completely disagree with you here. The reason why Williams looked to be an “underachiever” was that the Jets never really used him to his strengths, whereas Patrick Graham did.

Now while I’d love to see them keep Dalvin Tomlinson, run stuffers are a lot easier to find in the draft than pass rushers. I think it would be ill-advised if the Giants, who as it stands right now don’t have an established pass rusher, didn’t prioritize re-signing Williams.

Joey, my man! What’s new and exciting in your corner of the world? The Giants have six draft picks and a bunch of needs. 

You cannot put all your eggs in one basket right now as far as building up this roster, so I think the Giants are going to use both free agency and the draft to continue adding to what they have. I just don't think the Giants will go crazy.

Hey Wally Jo. Yes, the Giants are pretty good with doing due diligence, so I can't imagine they wouldn't have at least one representative at every pro day scheduled.

Hey Steve, thanks for checking in. Realistically I can’t give you a bottom-line number because the cap is fluid and it's going to be fluid for the next several weeks.

Over the Cap has the Giants needing $8,063,304 for their rookie pool, but that’s total money, not functional cap space (meaning the money that counts under the Top 51 that’s in effect until the start of the season).

I’ve also done a few mock contracts on the site with what I think it will take to get some deals done and I outlined in this article where I think money could come from.

I think you’re going to see a lot of one- and two-year deals for depth players, and not too many longer-term deals, such as what Leonard Williams will ultimately get.

Hi Peter. No, unfortunately, no one asked about those two players, but if we’re to use the response he offered about Saquon Barkley, they don’t play until September, so an update right now probably doesn’t mean anything. 

But fear not, as there will be other opportunities to make those inquiries as we get a little closer to camp.

From Steve P.

How do you see free agency playing out this year given teams have less money and there are more free agents available? Do you think teams will rush out for the day 1 “Big Splash” signings or wait and as salaries come down get some real bargains on some very good players? Will this year’s free agency be a buyer’s market instead of a seller’s market? I would really like to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks for the questions, Steve. I can't see this year being any different in terms of there being an initial wave of free-agent signings, and then a few free-agent contracts usually have a very cap-friendly number in the first year of the deal. 

I think what teams do is try to plan for two or three years down the line to ensure contracts fit (and if they don’t fit in, that the escape hatch offers as pain-free an escape as possible).

I think this is going to be a buyer’s market. With that said, you will probably see a small number of free agents land handsome deals, just like any other year. But I also think you’re going to see a lot of one- and two-year contracts with voidable years being thrown in for good measure.

From LD

I don’t understand the rush to cut Solder. Why not rework his deal with modest pay cut say 2yr/16m with6m signing bonus and 1m salary first year. Then Solder is on roster and still save 6m on salary cap.

I think the “rush” comes from external sources looking for the Giants to recoup as much salary cap space as possible by trimming players perceived to no longer hold any value to the team. 

The initial belief with Solder was that he hasn’t played right tackle since his rookie season, and some questioned the wisdom of keeping him at the expense of Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart.

I think the Giants are thinking is perhaps they can get one more year out of him as a swing tackle and have something to show for the prorated signing bonus that would otherwise go to the dead money column if Solder were cut and the team had to find a new swing tackle.

One final point. I do not see the Giants pumping any new money into Solder's contract, as you appear to be suggesting. If they tear up his current deal, they still are charged for the remaining $10.5 million prorated bonus, so what good would a new deal do?

From Jerry R.

With Zeitler gone; how would you see the OG situation if they don’t sign a starter? If it’s Hernandez and Lemieux who’s LG and who’s RG?

Hi Jerry. It’s kind of early to call this, but I see several scenarios that could play out.

The first that comes to mind is Will Hernandez moves to right guard, and Lemieux stays at left guard. You want your left guard to be more athletic to be handle protecting the quarterback's blindside. Meanwhile, the right side is more of a run-blocking power type of role, which is a role for which Hernandez is suited. 

Based on what we saw last year, Hernandez didn't move as well laterally but have him plow straight ahead, and I think you have something there. 

I also saw a suggestion that maybe the Giants are thinking of putting Nick Gates at guard, though I don't think that will be the case, not after they invested so much of him at center and not after Gates built up a rapport with Jones.

You have a deep draft class at guard to where maybe you take a young prospect to develop, and next year you let Hernandez walk away in free agency.

So yeah, this can go in any number of directions, but these are the ones I think make the most sense.

From Matt L.

This being Mr. Judge’s second year as a head coach, what do you see as his accomplishments this past year? What are some weaknesses that he needs to strengthen? At the end of 2021, how should we measure whether he has had a successful year?

Great questions, Matt. Let me start with Judge’s weaknesses—and I’m not even sure if this is a weakness, to be honest, but it’s something that stuck in my craw from last year. 

I think he’s a little too trusting of players coming off injuries. How else can you explain his decision to play Daniel Jones last year despite Jones not being able to move as usual in the pocket? 

That decision infuriated me to no end, and of course, Jones went and got hurt worse by not being able to defend himself. Thank goodness, though, he didn’t have to miss a lot of time.

Strengths? Judge has a number of them. I think he legitimately cares about the people and what they can bring to the program. He’s found a good place between being an enforcer and being a mentor and friend. 

He’s also been a man of his word—I’m amazed, for instance, that he not only has a personality, but he goes out of his way to remember things from past conversations. 

Judge is the quintessential people person, and I think that serves him well. He has an appreciation and respect for the franchise’s history. 

I also can’t remember the players and coaches thanking reporters after an interview the way this group has since he arrived. I could go on and on about what I view as positive traits, and I haven’t even touched on his willingness to get creative with Xs and Os.

How should we measure success at the end of 2021? As I see it, last year was all about the team continuing to stay together and fight down to the end. They proved that. Now it’s time to start seeing some of those efforts turn into wins. I’d love to see them go at least 8-8—I’d consider that a huge step forward. 

Hi John. The continuity comes through the return of Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux, Will Hernandez, Nick Gates, and Matt Peart. 

They all learned the system together, and I think now, with a new position coach, that will just help them with smoothing out the rough edges. 

What’s up, Sparta? I think the only two players you prioritize to keep are Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson, not only for the sake of continuity but also because of how well they played off each other. Why let a strength of the team become a weakness? 

I might also see if Kyler Fackrell is open to returning on a one-year veteran minimum, but I don’t think I’d knock myself out trying to hang on to him unless he's willing to take a minimum deal.

Hey Adam, how are you? Matt Peart played three snaps at right guard in college, probably on an emergency basis. So I don't think you look at him as anything other than a tackle, to be honest. I think you look for him to compete for the starting right tackle spot.

What's up Jake? it's way too soon to predict records. Let's get through free agency and the draft and see how the rosters all shape up and then we can revisit this question.   

Check out the video above as former NFL head coach Jim Mora Jr discusses the evolution of the quarterback position and how to evaluate the position.

What's next for the Giants this off-season? Sign up for our FREE newsletter for all the latest, and be sure to follow and like us on Facebook. Submit your questions for our mailbag. And don't forget to check out the daily LockedOn Giants podcast, also available for subscription wherever you find podcasts.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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