2021 Key Offseason Dates and Their Effects on the New York Giants

Here is a list of key off-season dates/deadlines and the related decisions that will need to be made or impact the deadline will have on the New York Giants.

February 23 - March 9

Franchise/Transition Player Designation Window: Teams have until 4 p.m. ET on March 9 to designate a franchise or transition player. (Teams may only make one designation, and if the designated player signs a new multi-year deal, the tag cannot be used again on another player.

What It Means for the Giants: If the Giants and Leonard Williams can't get a deal done by the deadline, Williams becomes the most logical player to get the non-exclusive franchise tag. (The non-exclusive tag would still allow for Williams to negotiate with other teams, but any team that signs him would owe the Giants two first-round draft picks.)

By the way, the non-exclusive franchise tag for Williams would be just over $19 million and not the $17.752 million listed by Over the Cap. This is because Williams would be getting the tag for the second year in a row, and according to the CBA, the new cap figure would have to be wither what the established franchise tag is for his position or 120% of what he earned in the prior year, whichever is higher.

What would be interesting to see is if the Giants and Williams agree to a new multi-year deal before the tag deadline, will Giants general manager Dave Gettleman then use the tag to retain defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson?

The Giants are thought to want to retain both Williams and Tomlinson, who would cost $14.178 million if franchised. But that looks like a tall order for a team that, although it will pare down the roster to create salary cap space, might not be able to fit Tomlinson into the cap structure.

Also, by this time, we should know what the 2021 salary cap is and learn of any compensatory picks for the teams. (The Giants are not expected to be awarded any comp picks given their free agency gains last year.)

The NFL and NFLPA announced that the minimum 2021 salary cap floor would be $180 million, up from the initial $175 million initially projected. The actual cap is expected to fall between $180-$185 million, with early projections having it closer to the $180-million floor.

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March 15 - 17

Legal Tampering Period: Clubs are permitted to contact and negotiate with the agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2020 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., ET on March 17.

Known as the "legal tampering period," teams and players are not supposed to enter into any contracts until the official start of free agency at 4:00 p.m. ET, but that's all a matter of semantics since free agency begins on the final day of the legal tampering period and often teams and players have new contracts ready to execute once it's permissible to do so.

What it Means for the Giants: If anything, look for Tomlinson (assuming he's not re-signed or franchised) to land with a new team once the curtain rises on free agency. And will the Giants have a new veteran receiver locked up by then? That's something else to watch.

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March 17, 4:00 p.m. ET

Happy New League Year! And we're off! Free agency begins at 4:00 p.m., ET. Before 4:00 p.m. ET, clubs must exercise options for 2021 on all players who have option clauses in their 2020 contracts.

Finally, before 4:00 p.m. ET, clubs must submit qualifying offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation and submit a minimum salary tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2020 contracts who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit.

A Restricted Free Agent (RFA) is defined as any player with three years of accrued experience and an expired contract. Those RFAs that teams wish to retain are tendered at the start of the new league year one of three levels:

• A first-round tender, estimated at $4.766 million or 110% of his prior year's salary, whichever is higher;
• A second-round tender, estimated at $3.384 million or 110% of his prior year's salary, whichever is higher; and
• A Right of First Refusal (ROFR) tender estimated at $2.133 million or 110% of his prior year's salary, whichever is higher.

If another club signs an RFA to an offer sheet, the original club has seven days to match. If the original club doesn't match, it is then owed a draft pick by the acquiring club that corresponds with the tender level or the player's original draft position.

With an original round tender, if an RFA who initially went undrafted signs with another club, his original team isn't owed any compensation.

What it Means for the Giants: Don't expect the Giants to make a significant splash in free agency this year. But with that said, given the state of the league's salary cap, don't be surprised if you see the Giants enter in a bunch of one- and two-year agreements with free agents, with most of those coming after the initial wave of free agency signings to hit the books in the first few days of free agency.

As for the RFAs, according to Over the Cap, the Giants' RFAs include cornerback Ryan Lewis, inside linebacker Devante Downs, and receiver C.J. Board. It's unlikely any of those three will get the minimum ROFR offer that pays $2.133 million for one year; instead, if the Giants plan to retain those players, they'll likely look to negotiate a lower-cost deal.

If the Giants don't tender Lewis, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.

One other thing--and this is a change from past years thanks to the new CBA that was ratified last year--the fifth-year options for tight end Evan Engram ($6.013) and strong safety Jabrill Peppers ($6.77 million) become fully guaranteed on this date, a change from the past when the guarantees didn't kick in until later in the league year.

The Giants can still trade one or both players if they want, as the acquiring team would have to agree to take on the option-year terms. Likewise, the Giants can sign one or both to a new contract so long as the first year's cash payout (different from the first year's cap number) on any new deal signed is equal to the amount guaranteed in the option year.

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April 5

New Head Coaches Can Open Their Off-season Programs. Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2020 regular season may begin offseason workout programs.

What it Means for the Giants: Because of the pandemic last year, the NFL didn't have in-person off-season programs (and t remains to be seen if those will return this year). If the off-season programs d return in their pre-pandemic state, head coaches hired in 2020 will not be eligible for an early start this year.

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April 19

Off-season Programs Begin for Rest of Teams. This applies to the rest of the league. But again, see the previous paragraph. The early expectation is that off-season programs will be virtual this year as they were last year.

What it Means for the Giants: The Giants can begin their off-season program--either virtual or in-person--on this date. They will still be subject to the phases as established by the NFL off-season calendar, which is as follows (for in-person activities):

• Phase One - Two weeks
• Phase Two - Three weeks
• Phase Three - 4 weeks total
• OTAs: 3 weeks for ten total OTA’s
• Minicamp: 2 practice days

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April 23

Deadline for Clubs to Sign Other RFAs. See the March 17 entry regarding RFAs.

What It Means for the Giants: Probably nothing, as it would be very surprising if the Giants pursue any RFAs from other teams.

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April 28

Deadline RFAs to Sign Their Offer Sheets. See March 17 and April 23 entries.

What It Means for the Giants: Probably nothing unless the Giants tender their RFAs an offer sheet.

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April 29 - May 1

2021 NFL Draft, Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL draft looks though it's going to be conducted virtually again or at the very least with another scaled-down look.

What It Means for the Giants: The Giants are set to pick 11th overall. They also have their second, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh picks plus an extra sixth obtained from the Arizona Cardinals for Markus Golden. Their fifth-round pick is owed to the Jets to complete the Leonard Williams trade.

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May 3

Fifth-year option deadline for 2018 first-round draft picks. NFL Clubs must decide if they will exercise the fifth-year option on their first-round draft picks chosen in the 2018 draft.

Beginning with the Class of 2018, those first-round picks who have their option years picked up have that money guaranteed once the option is exercised rather than having to wait until the start of the next league year.

What It Means for the Giants: The Giants' 2018 first-round pick is running back Saquon Barkley--yes, the player who is trying to come back from a torn ACL.

The compensation for fifth-year options changed for members of the 2018 draft class and later is, per Article 7, Section 7g(iii) of the current CBA, as follows (emphasis added):

For a Drafted Rookie selected in the first round of the 2018 or any subsequent Draft who is selected to one, but not more than one, Pro Bowl on the original ballot during any of his first three seasons, the Paragraph 5 Salary for the player’s Fifth-Year Option shall equal the Transition Tender that applies in the League Year that is the fourth year of the Rookie’s Contract (as calculated pursuant to Article 10, Section 4) for players at the same position (using the categories in Article 10, Section 7(a)) at which the Rookie participated in the most plays during his third League Year.

Barkley was selected to the 2018 Pro Bowl, the only Pro Bowl appearance of his three years in the league thus far.

The 2021 projected transition tag for running backs is $8.942 million, so it's likely safe to assume that the 2022 transition tag for running backs will hover around $9 million.

Suppose the Giants do pick up that option. In that case, they can still work out a deal to lower Barkley's cap number in the first year so long as the cash payout matches the guaranteed money from the option year, or they can live with the option year price and hope Barkley gets back to being himself following his torn ACL.

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