Giants Country

New York Giants Mailbag: Dollars and Sense, Jakob Johnson, and More

Let's check in with the readers to see what's on their minds this week.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants Mailbag
New York Giants Mailbag / Patricia Traina | New York Giants on SI
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If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please use the link at the bottom of this page to access our form. You may also post your questions on X (formerly known as Twitter) to @Patricia_Traina, hashtag #askPTrain. Please note that letters may be edited for clarity/length.

Almost every year for the last 12 years or so, the Giants end up being a losing team, and every year, it seems they are in cap hell. If they were a winning team, I could see the cap problem, but obviously, they aren't. Why a cap problem every year? Is it the GM's not spending wisely, like overpaying several players and being unable to build up the starting talent level? This season's record is TBD, of course. -- Joe G.

Joe, for starters, you must pay your 53-man roster, practice squad players, injured reserve players, etc. That all adds up. But as I have said before, when it comes to the Giants–and I am reluctant to bring this up with you because I just know I’m opening a can of worms that I tried to close last time you wrote--when you are a rebuilding team, and you have a player that you’re not sure about regarding his long-term future who is taking up 18.4 percent of your team’s cap, that’s an issue.

Daniel Jones currently has the third-highest cap figure this season among the league quarterbacks at $47.855 million, behind Dak Prescott of the Cowboys ($55.132 million, the final year of his contract) and Kyler Murray of the Cardinals ($49.118 million). You can't have that for a team that’s rebuilding (Giants). You just can’t.

This is much like the Kenny Golladay situation from a few years ago when they knew they would move on from him, but they couldn't touch his cap figure because it would have created problems down the road.

If the Giants were certain that Jones was the guy for the long term, they'd have almost definitely reworked that contract. But they can't because, despite what anyone else believes, this is a make-or-break year for Jones. If he rises to the occasion, I can guarantee you his cap number will be reworked next year. But until he proves he can be counted on, they’re stuck with their financial situation.

I can't speak for all people, but I have a saying, "Woulda, coulda, shoulda, didn't." I mean I was two nubmers off once from hitting the megamillions, but I am not about to consider that a moral victory. And int he case of the Giants in 2022, did you firget they got blown out in a few games that season, including the dvisional playoff round? Good teams don't get blown out multiple times in a season--that's probably why no one acknowledges it.

Yes. Why wouldn't he be?

Cap gymnastics. Any veteran on the 53-man roster as of 4:00 p.m. Saturday has his full salary guaranteed for the upcoming year. So the Giants are shuffling guys around to help their cap. Then there is another factor that could be in play here–the team might have a “handshake” agreement with Johnson to where they get him a paycheck this year, but he has to be okay with being this year’s version of Ryan Perrilloux.

First and foremost, have fun; that’s the most important thing. Walk around the parking lots and leave yourself time to check out the legacy club and the various events they have on the concourse. 

Second, if you’re like me and you want to be able to make a quick getaway after the game and avoid as much traffic as possible, park by an exit so you can zip right out of the parking lot.

 I think it’s going to depend on the opponent and the matchup, at least that’s how I hope Shane Bowen plays it.

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Patricia Traina

PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over three decades for various media outlets. She is the host of the Locked On Giants podcast and the author of "The Big 50: New York Giants: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants" (Triumph Books, September 2020). View Patricia's full bio.

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