How the Giants Can Create More Salary Cap Space

There's no truth to the rumor that Giants general manager Joe Schoen has been scouring under every seat cushion inside the team's East Rutherford headquarters to find spare change to help the team's dire salary cap situation.

But no one would blame him if he was, as the Giants' cap situation is still a long way from getting a clean bill of health despite Schoen's judicious practice of handing out mostly one-year veteran salary benefit (VSB) contracts to free agents, deals that count for roughly $1 million against the cap.

And those contracts that haven't qualified for the VSB savings haven't been cap busters, as Schoen has, as expected, deployed some of the tactics the Bills have used under their current regime to keep the annual cap hits of multi-year contracts from spiraling out of control.

The actual salary cap space for all 32 NFL teams continues to change daily. We do know that the Giants are in compliance with the cap (the NFLPA public cap report has them listed with $2,248,607 of cap space as of March 25, but that total is not believed to include the one-year deal receiver Richie James accepted.

Whatever the total, it's probably safe to say that the Giants don't have anything near what they need to sign their rookie pool. According to Over the Cap, they need a projected $12.518 million of effective cap space to get that done.

And we haven't even spoken about the money the Giants will need to accommodate in-season transactions such as standard practice squad elevations, waiver wire acquisitions, etc. That total can vary, and it's likely Schoen will clear out space as he needs it rather than set aside a specific amount to draw from.

The bottom line is the Giants need to clear some more cap space. They have several ways to do so, and here are just a few of those.

Trade/Cut James Bradberry

Cornerback James Bradberry's $21,863,889 cap hit cannot be on this team's books moving forward.

The Giants reportedly would like to trade Bradberry and get something in return rather than simply cutting him loose. A trade is also more advantageous for the Giants because the $2 million of his base salary that's now guaranteed will fall off their books and be passed to the acquiring team.

If the Giants simply cut Bradberry, they'd have to carry the $2 million guaranteed salary in addition to the dead money, thereby not recognizing as much savings as if they were able to find a trade partner.

Restructure James Bradberry

Schoen rightfully wants to avoid kicking the can down the road as far as pushing potential dead money into future cap years--after all, that's partially why the Giants are in their current cap predicament.

But in some cases, it might be necessary, as before the Giants cut a player and create a gaping hole, they better have a plan in place to replace the guy.

So let's assume just for the moment that Bradberry will be a part of the Giants in 2022, though again not on his current cap figure. How can the Giants restructure Bradberry to gain some savings?

Our solution is to lower his base salary and convert the rest of the money to a signing bonus. Such a breakdown would look as follows:

In this example, I lowered Bradberry's base to $3.035 million, including the $1.035 million minimum for a player with six years of accrued experience plus the $2 million guaranteed money that kicked in for Bradberry earlier this month.

I added another voidable year in 2024--remember starting next year, the NFL salary cap is expected to jump when the new television revenue streams kick in. The addition of another voidable year helps ease the signing bonus strain.

(For reference purposes, the last time the Giants took this approach with giving a player a contract with multiple voidable years was in 2013 when they signed tight end Brandon Myers to a one-year deal that had three voidable years to help ease the strain of his signing bonus.)

This solution results in a $6.91 million cap savings this year--not enough to cover what the Giants need, but still a start and one that prevents them from creating a hole on their roster if they have any concerns about replacing Bradberry.

Restructure Leonard Williams

Because of the guaranteed money sitting in the contracts of defensive lineman Leonard Williams, cornerback Adoree' Jackson, and receiver Kenny Golladay--three of the Giants' current top-five highest cap hits--restructuring any of them is tricky.

But let's try it anyway with Williams, who has a $27.3 million cap hit for 2022 and a $19 million guaranteed base salary.

The $19 million in new money for 2022 needs to be accounted for regardless of any restructuring. So if the Giants took $10 million off Williams' base salary and converted that into a signing bonus and tacked on a voidable year to help ease the sting of the new prorated money, the contract structure would look something like this:

While this proposal saves the Giants about $6.7 million on the cap, the danger they run into is in 2023 when Williams' already high cap hit of $26.3 million jumps up another $3.333 million to $29.633 million.

Restructure Adoree' Jackson

I don't advocate that the Giants go crazy with restructuring contracts unless they have to. Still, I could see an instance where maybe they work out parameters with different players and only execute restructures if needed.

On that note, I took a look at cornerback Adoree' Jackson's contract since the last of his guaranteed money is due this year (Golladay has guaranteed money going into 2023, so his deal isn't an option as far as a restructure).

Jackson has a $10 million base salary, of which $9.5 million is guaranteed. By lowering his base to $1.035 million, converting the difference to a signing bonus, and tacking on a voidable year, we get the following:

Although this raises Jackson's 2023 number by nearly $3 million, remember that the 2023 cap is projected to rise to $225 million league-wide, including for a Giants team that should be in far better shape cap-wise by next year.

Trade Saquon Barkley

Thanks to the Giants exercising his option year, Barkley is locked in for a $7.217 million salary. But his future with this team is murky at best.

The Giants are undoubtedly keeping their fingers crossed that Barkley can return to his 2018 rookie form when he temporarily quieted all the naysayers who questioned New York's selection of him second overall in that year's draft.

But that's a big "if'' for the Giants, who, while not ruling out trading Barkley, aren't thought to have been as aggressive in seeking a trade partner as some might have thought. Barkley, in their estimation, can be a big piece of the puzzle on an offense that head coach Brian Daboll is trying to turbocharge.

Barkley can also be a key component in the team's attempt to find out what they have in quarterback Daniel Jones, who, in facing a make-or-break year of his own, needs as much support as possible.

Then there is also the possibility that any trade offers for Barkley won't come close to matching what he could potentially bring in terms of a compensatory pick if he walks away in free agency.

While there is an argument that the Giants would be better off moving on from Barkley because he's unlikely to be in the team's plans, Schoen spoke about being competitive while rebuilding. One area in which he's no doubt wanting the Giants to be competitive is on the offensive side of the ball, given that unit's struggles the last few years.

The $7.217 million would be great for a cap-strapped team, but the chances of that cap relief coming from Barkley are unlikely.

Move One of Their First-Round Picks

According to Over the Cap, the first-year cap hit for the fifth overall pick is $6,582,955, and for the seventh pick, it's $5,130,077. With Schoen having expressed a desire to get "more at-bats" in the draft, could the Giants look to move one of their first-round picks in return for cap relief and more draft capital?

This will all depend on who's on the board. Do they swap with a quarterback-needy team looking to get ahead of the Panthers (No. 6), who could be in the market for a new signal-caller?

If a trade doesn't materialize for the fifth overall spot, there is always the seventh spot. But again, is it really worth it?

Atlanta, who just traded Matt Ryan (but who signed Marcus Mariota); Seattle, who swapped out Russell Wilson for Drew Locke in a trade with Denver; and Houston, who just received a king's ransom from Cleveland for Deshaun Watson, are three "quarterback-needy" teams with draft capital.

If the Giants traded away one of their first-round picks but got a bounty of picks in return, would you be happy they’re preparing for the future or upset that they didn’t cash in on grabbing two potential top playmakers?
— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) March 25, 2022

Might the Giants be able to swing a deal with one of those teams looking to move up to get a quarterback in this class? It depends on how the board falls, as is always the case, and how the other teams have the quarterbacks graded.

So let's take Houston, for example. The Texans pick thirteenth thanks to the Watson trade with the Browns. If Houston wants to get ahead of Atlanta (No. 8) and Seattle (No. 9), they have the capital to grant Schoen his wish of getting "more at-bats," not just in this draft, but in next year's as well.

But here's the thing. If the Giants trade one of their first-round picks, they're not gaining 100 percent savings; instead, they'd be getting the difference in what they would have paid versus what they would pay at the new spot.

For example, if they moved down from No. 7 to No. 13, the estimated cap hit this year for the 13th overall pick in the draft is $3.514 million. That's an estimated difference of $1.614 million, which may or may not be worth it for Schoen to do considering the holes on the roster.

Final Thoughts

I don't expect the Giants to do any more than they have to with the cap. In other words, Schoen will make sure he has enough money to sign the rookie class, and will proceed to clear space on an as-needed basis.

There is still work to be done, and it will likely take some sacrifice with the coming season, but Schoen appears to have the Giants going in the right direction.

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