The 2019-202 NFL season is winding down with Super Bowl LIV taking place in Miami this coming Sunday, but for front offices around the league, it’s just the beginning of the tedious offseason process.
On February 3, the day after the Super Bowl, the waiver system kicks in for the 2020 season. The Giants will have the fourth pick in any waiver situation.
That will be followed by the NFL Scouting Combine from February 25 – March 3. The league year ends at 4:00 p.m. on March 18.
Between now and then, teams will be seeking to cut loose some of their overpaid, underachieving veterans. Teams will abide by the waiver system should they want to claim any of them but more importantly, it is the last opportunity for teams to get as lean as they can before free agency begins on March 18.
What does that mean for the Giants?
Well, their salary cap situation is fairly fluid and flush. They have approximately $61 million in cap space to play with this offseason and could have more should they decide to cut a few veterans.
But who those players could be are questionable. The Giants only have four players with cap hits over $10 million: left tackle Nate Solder ($19.5 million), right guard Kevin Zeitler ($12.5 million), linebacker Alec Ogletree ($11.75 million) and wide receiver Golden Tate ($10.5 million).
Solder is locked in for 2020 due to the dead cap hit of $13 million, so he’s out. The Giants just restructured Zeitler last year. He is entering the second year of a three-year deal, plus the Giants have no intention of letting him go under any circumstances.
Ogletree is a possibility. He has a dead cap charge of just $3.5 million and the team could clear approximately $8 million by releasing him.
It doesn’t make any sense to touch Tate. He’s only in Year 2 of a four-year deal and is a valuable piece of the Giants’ offense for two reasons. First, he’s integral to the further development of quarterback Daniel Jones and second, in light of the concussions suffered by Sterling Shepard last year, Tate could be leaned on more heavily going forward.
Other candidates for release are tight end Rhett Ellison and linebacker Kareem Martin.
Ellison’s 2020 cap hit is $7.188 million with a dead cap charge of $2.188 million, which would equate to a cap savings of $5 million should they cut him. Ellison missed the final six games of the 2019 season with a concussion and was spelled by rookie Kaden Smith, who showed promise.
Martin spent most of the season on IR with a sprained knee and has had very little impact since being signed to a three-year, $15 million deal before the 2018 season as the player who would help new defensive coordinator James Bettcher install his scheme. It never really worked out. The Giants can save $4.8 million by cutting Martin.
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