Giants 2022 Off Season To-Do's: Getting Under The Cap

Photo Credit: Giants.com

The New York Football Giants have been on the clock for the 2022 offseason since mid season of 2021. The Giants offseason will involve many decisions about the current roster and future draft picks. We will continue to predict the Giants' offseason as we breakdown their to-do's: offseason roster moves.

March 16th marks the official start of the 2022 season. Trades and free agent signings can be officially out to paper. However, the 2022 Combine in Indianapolis is where the Giants can have "conversations" about trades with other teams, and agents, etc. The Giants are currently $12MM over the cap (thanks Gettleman) and are looking to clear $40MM in cap space, according to GM Joe Schoen. Schoen will no doubt look to trade some high dollar/value players before cutting them.

One player with value and salary that the Giants might look to move is CB James Bradberry. Bradberry is a solid edition for a number of contending teams and should get trade interest during the Combine.

Photo Credit: Giants Wire - USA Today

I for one do not want the Giants to post with such a talented cornerback. Bradberry struggled early in the season, but came on as the whole defense did as the season wore on. It’s not good business to trade your best corner when the corner position is one of the most important on the defense. But the G-Men are in an awful position where they have to make tough decisions to get under the cap. While Bradberry is a stud player that was a Pro Bowler in his first year with Big Blue, his cap number will cost the Giants too much to keep him.

His cap hit on the Giants would be $21.8MM. Gettleman restructured his contract multiple times to defer his money, and now it's time to pay up. Schoen has stated in press conferences that he won’t be restructuring deals this offseason, and I don't blame him. If the Giants are able to trade Bradberry, it would save them $12.1MM with a $9.7MM million dead cap penalty. It would be the same if they just cut Bradberry.

Other players the Giants will likely look to shop around are WR Darius Slayton and safety Logan Ryan. Slayton was a great story in his rookie year, but injuries and the addition of Kenny Golladay/Kadarius Toney had made him expendable. Slayton shouldn't have a huge market but a team might want to take a flyer on him for a 4th or 5th rounder. Ryan on the other hand would be a tough cap casualty. He's a leader on defense and you can't move your two leaders in the back. I think it would be surprising if Ryan was traded.

Photo Credit: Giants Wire - USA Today

I wouldn’t think that RB Saquon Barkley would be on the trade block. I think getting him healthy would be their focus. Schoen has said they are open for business and he'll listen to offers. But we will dive deeper into the Barkley situation in another article. With the trade market not typically as active as say basketball, I think LB Blake Martinez, WR Sterling Shepard, TE Kyle Rudolph, RB Devontae Booker and punter Riley Dixon are on the shortlist to be cut. Dixon and Rudolph are almost certainly a lock at this point to be cut. Martinez and Shepard would be a hard choice if they were healthy, but coming off season ending injuries make them a necessary cut candidate. Shepard is the longest tenured Giant, but he tore his Achilles at the end of the 2021 season. Shepard has been often injured during his career, so he likely will have to continue his career elsewhere. The Giants signed RB Antonio Williams this past January from Buffalo, so Booker is likely the odd man out.

Kenny Golladay is an interesting case as he has interesting cap ramifications. The Giants would save $7.5MM by trading him, but he would have a $13.6MM dead cap penalty. However, if the Giants traded Golladay after June 1st, it goes up to $17.7MM in cap savings and the dead cap can potentially be spread out over multiple seasons. The Giants can’t cut Golladay because they would actually lose around $2.45MM in cap space. The Giants would be better off getting a pay off on the field after his awful 2021 season where he had 521 receiving yards and 0 TDs.

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