Giants Moving on from LB Bobby Okereke

Okereke will get a head start on finding a new team ahead of the start of free agency on March 11.

The New York Giants are indeed moving on from linebacker Bobby Okereke, a move that will save them $9 million against the salary cap. | David Banks-Imagn Images

As has been widely anticipated, the New York Giants are moving on from defensive co-captain and their 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year Winner Bobby Okereke in a cap savings move.

The move was initially reported by FOX Sports insiderJordan Schultz and has since been confirmed by a source.

Okereke, 30 years old, was set to enter the final year of a four-year contract he signed back in 2023 as an unrestricted free agent and was due to receive a $3 million roster bonus on March 14, the third day of the new league year.

Okereke finished twice as the Giants' leader in total tackles, including in 2023 when he recorded 149 and again this past season when he finished with 143, both totals representing the second- and third-best marks of his career, respectively.

But Okereke, who missed five games in 2024 with a back injury, saw his production start to slip, particularly in coverage, where once the Giants moved from Wink Martindale as their defensive coordinator to Shane Bowen, Okereke just never seemed to be comfortable or a fit in the scheme Bowen ran from 2024 until he was fired 10 games into 2025.

The move will save the Giants, who began the day with $1.799 million in total cap space and $9 million on their cap, boosting their total cap space to $10.799 million. It will also erase the negative $8.299 million figure the Giants are in on effective cap space, bringing that total back into the positive ($700,221).

The Giants, who were among the teams with the lowest dead money total in the league ($216,804), will eat $5.463 million, the remaining prorated part of Okereke’s signing bonus.  

New York is expected to make additional moves to strengthen the health of their 2026 salary cap, among those moves liekly to include kicker Graham Gano, tackle James Hudson III, and running back Devin Singletary, all of whom are int he final year of their respective contracts with the Giants.

The Giants, whose other starting inside linebacker, Micah McFadden, is not only coming off a season-ending foot injury but is also a pending unrestricted free agent,  are expected to dip into the draft class, which is rich in linebacker talent, to rebuild their inside linebacker unit.

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