Category: 2022 NFL Free Agency

Giants rework Graham Gano’s contract, clear 2022 cap space

The New York Giants cleared additional 2022 salary cap space by reworking the contract of kicker Graham Gano.

The ongoing effort to recapture as much salary cap space as possible for the New York Giants continued over the weekend when they restructured the contract of kicker Graham Gano.

In 2020, Gano signed a three-year, $14 million contract that included a $3.25 million signing bonus with $9.5 million guaranteed. Gano’s cap hit for for both 2022 and 2023 was $4,671,296.

The Giants are reportedly under the salary cap (Top 51) by less than $400,000 at the moment but are still carrying James Bradberry and Saquon Barkley’s contracts, two players the team hopes to trade.

Should the Giants manage to trade both, they could clear approximately $18 million in salary cap space, but by that time there may not be any big-ticket free agents left on the market to sign.

Gano, meanwhile, is one of the few Giants players to earn their keep in recent seasons. He made 29 of his 33 field goal attempts and all 17 of his point after attempts in 2021.

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Lorenzo Carter says goodbye, will not return to Giants

Linebacker Lorenzo Carter has posted a lengthy and heartfelt thank you and goodbye to the New York Giants and their fans.

After finishing the 2021 regular season strong, there had been some speculation that linebacker Lorenzo Carter could return to the New York Giants.

However, we learned on Sunday that that’s not going to happen.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Carter thanked the Giants organization and their fans while also appearing to say goodbye.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbVwvNfpKyK/

“It’s hard for me to even put in words how blessed I am to have been apart of the New York Football Giants family these past four years. Leaving home as a young man and coming to New York taught me so much about not just myself, but opened my eyes to the world as a whole and that’s something I will never forget,” Carter wrote”

“The people in the building that spent day and night making sure we had everything we needed, from the kitchen staff, to equipment, to the janitors, to the trainers, the list goes on and on, but I’m thankful for everyone that played their part in making my time with the organization so special.

“Thanks to everyone that’s invested in me as not just an athlete, but as a person as well. The connections and memories I made are something I will cherish forever and as I move on to my next chapter, I’ll never forget the Big Blue!”

A third-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Carter was expected to come in and transform into a game-changing edge rusher for the Giants. And at times, there were flashes that led many to believe the 26-year-old would become exactly that. However, injury and inconsistency ultimately stunted Carter’s growth in East Rutherford and a strong six-week stint to end last season wasn’t enough to earn him another opportunity.

In 49 career games with the Giants (33 starts), Carter recorded 153 tackles (94 solo, 21 for a loss), 35 QB hits, 14.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, 15 passes defensed and one interception.

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Giants assign numbers to newly signed free agents

The New York Giants have begun to assign (potentially temporary) jersey numbers to their newly signed free agents.

The first wave of free agency has officially come and gone in the NFL, and to no one’s surprise, the salary cap-crippled New York Giants were very calculated with their moves.

There were no big-splash signings, but the team did focus a lot of their early attention on quality veteran offensive linemen. They also added a few bodies to the quarterback room and signed some depth at wide receiver.

Other signings were also made, but nothing necessarily worth writing home about.

What will interest fans however, are the new jersey numbers being assigned to some of the incoming free agents. But we want to remind everyone before they rush out and buy a jersey: these numbers are potentially temporary and subject to change.

Not all jersey numbers have been assigned yet, either. We will continue to update this post as the Giants work to hand out the digits.

What Allen Robinson brings to the Rams’ offense

Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick goes to the film to examine how Allen Robinson fits in the Rams’ offense

The Los Angeles Rams added to their stacked receiver corps in free agency by signing veteran Allen Robinson to a three-year, $46.5 contract with $30.7 million guaranteed. It’s a great signing for team and player, and Robinson — who has had ghastly quarterback luck going back to his time at Penn State — now has his best quarterback ever.

Coming into 2021, Robinson was coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with Mitch Trubisky, Chase Daniel, and Nick Foles as his quarterbacks. No offense to any of those fine gentlemen, but Stafford is several levels above in traits and production, and when you watch both Robinson and the Rams’ passing game as separate entities, it’s easy to see why this is a great fit.

The defending Super Bowl champs already have Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, the underrated Robert Woods, tight end Tyler Higbee, and a group of running backs who can grab the ball out of the backfield for easy gains. What they did not have — even with the addition of current free agent Odell Beckham Jr. in the second half of the season — was a receiver who brings Robinsons specific attributes to the roster.

Let’s go to the tape, and see why Allen Robinson can make Sean McVay’s offense even more explosive in 2022 and beyond.

Texans trade 2023 sixth-round pick for Jets LB Blake Cashman

The Houston Texans traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets for linebacker Blake Cashman.

One of the strategies of general manager Nick Caserio with his acquisition of draft picks is to role the dice on some of the underrated veterans across NFL rosters.

Case in point: the Houston Texans traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets for linebacker Blake Cashman. The Texans were able to make the trade thanks to the compensation the franchise received in shipping defensive end Charles Omenihu to the San Francisco 49ers.

Cashman has only played in 14 games in his NFL career, starting in seven of them. The former 2019 fifth-round pick from Minnesota collected 49 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, a half-sack, a pass breakup, and a fumble recovery. Cashman has played 463 defensive snaps compared to 143 on special teams.

Breaking down the S Eric Murray 2-year contract with the Texans

Safety Eric Murray signed a two-year contract to remain with the Houston Texans. Here are the details.

The Houston Texans signed Eric Murray to a two-year contract worth $10 million. The Texans secondary keeps some stability as the defense continues forward in year two of Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 scheme.

According to Over The Cap, Murray’s base salary for 2022 is $2.5 million and is fully guaranteed. Murray gets a $250,000 per game roster bonus, and his cap hit will be $4,860,294 for this season.

In 2023, Murray’s base salary is $3.75 million with none of it guaranteed. Murray would still be eligible to earn the $250,000 per game roster bonus. His salary cap figure would $4,625,000. The Texans would have a potential out as they could cut him and it only cost $625,000 in dead money, which would reflect his prorated bonus.

As the 2021 season came to a close and the Texans were destined for a 4-13 finish, Murray told reporters on Jan. 3 that he saw the defense come together throughout the season.

“From a defensive standpoint, it’s been really interesting because for a lot of us this is a defense that we haven’t really experienced for a lot of the times,” Murray said. “Just buying into everybody doing their job and doing the same job every time, every play. As the course of the season went on, you saw people play faster and you saw people play better. You begin to just plug and play once the culture is in place. I think that is really important for this franchise going forward.”

Murray collected 76 combined tackles, an interception, and four pass breakups in 16 games for Houston, 11 of which he started.

Texans sign OL Scott Quessenberry to 1-year contract

The Houston Texans signed former Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Scott Quessenberry to a one-year contract.

The Houston Texans can’t get enough of the Quessenberry boys.

According to Aaron Wilson from the Pro Football Network, the Texans reached a one-year deal with former Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Scott Quessenberry.

Quessenberry was a 2018 fifth-round pick for the Chargers and was active for 63 games for Los Angeles, starting in 10 of them. Quessenberry’s most productive season was in 2019 when he started nine of 16 games for the Chargers at center.

The former UCLA product’s contract is for $1.187 million with $652,500 guaranteed and a $152,500 signing bonus. Quessenberry’s base salary is $1.035 million and is also fully guaranteed.

Houston previously had David Quessenberry on their roster in the mid-2010s. The Texans have another Quessenberry brother signed with tight end Paul Quessenberry.

Breaking down the Jalen Reeves-Mabin contract with the Texans

Take a look at how the two-year contract linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin signed with the Houston Texans breaks down.

The Houston Texans added to their linebacking corps with the signing of former Detroit Lions 2017 fourth-round pick Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

According to Aaron Wilson from the Pro Football Network, Reeves-Maybin signed a two-year contract worth $7.5 million with $5 million guaranteed.

Reeves-Maybin earned a $1.5 million signing bonus and he has salaries of $2.25 million — fully guaranteed) and $3.25 million with $1.25 million of that guaranteed. The 27-year-old also can earn up to $250,000 per game in active roster bonuses each year and up to $750,000 in playing time incentives each season.

The 6-1, 230-pounder saw the most defensive snaps of his career in 2022 with 616. Reeves-Maybin provided the Lions with a career-high 82 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery through 15 games, 11 of which he started.

Report: Ex-Giant Logan Ryan agrees to terms with Buccaneers

Recently released New York Giants safety Logan Ryan has agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The New York Giants released safety Logan Ryan on Thursday evening in what many considered a surprising move. The cut saved the Giants just $775,000 in cap space and left them with a dead money hit of nearly $11.5 million.

But don’t feel sorry for Ryan, whom several in the Giants front office apparently wanted gone.

Less than 16 hours after his release, the long-time NFL veteran has agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will reunite with his former New England Patriots teammate, Tom Brady.

Ryan, while a member of the Tennessee Titans, infamously intercepted Brady’s final pass in a Patriots uniform. The two were also slated to square off last season when the Giants visited the Bucs in Tampa Bay, but Ryan ultimately missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Giants, meanwhile, now find themselves in the market for a new safety and some defensive leadership.

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Giants release defensive captain Logan Ryan

The New York Giants announced the release of safety and team captain Logan Ryan on Thursday.

The New York Giants released a veteran defensive back on Thursday but it wasn’t the one everyone expected.

Safety Logan Ryan, a defensive captain, was the player let go, not cornerback James Bradberry, who the Giants are still hoping to trade.

Ryan announced his release and said his goodbyes via Twitter. The Giants later confirmed the transaction.

Originally, it appeared the Giants stood to gain just $750,000 in salary cap relief against more than $11.4 million in dead cap. Even as a post-June 1 cut, New York was slated to eat more than $8 million in dead cap.

As it turns out however, Ryan’s 2022 salary would not become guaranteed until March 19. As the result of his release, the Giants save around $6.3 million in cap space and eat a dead cap hit of $5.95 million.

The dead cap is still significant, but that’s a pill general manager Joe Schoen has to swallow. It’s tough to release Ryan — especially if a pay cut was requested one year after his extension — but the band-aid must come off. The Giants have to hit the reset button.

Unfortunately, Ryan was a casualty.

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