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New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen revealed early on that he intends to clear upwards of $40 million in salary cap this offseason. That means several key players will either be asked to take pay cuts or be released outright.
Those decisions won’t come easy, which Schoen admitted to the New York Post in an exclusive interview over the weekend.
“First off, we have to get underneath [the cap], we have to make some tough decisions here in the near future just to get in a place where we can sign draft picks and be below the cap,” Schoen said. “There’s a fine line, because you can’t purge.”
Schoen is warry of purging the roster for two reasons. One, the Giants are already thin at nearly all positions. Two, purging the roster would essentially mean wasting another season for quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley.
“I don’t want to purge the roster, because we still want to find out what Daniel Jones can do, we want to find out what Saquon can do. We got some good pieces on defense,” Schoen said. “The fine balance, the fine line is cutting players that can really help you win but you also got to get under the salary cap, then you’re gonna have the draft picks.”
Among the biggest issues facing Schoen is not only getting the Giants under the cap, but ensuring that there’s enough money left over to sign their nine draft picks — which include two in the top 10. That’s expensive.
Adding to Schoen’s issues are several of the contracts he now has to navigate. Case in point: Wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who is on the books for $21.1 million in 2022. Cutting him would actually cost the Giants more (an addition $2.45 million in dead cap) than it would save.
“The players were paid those contracts they’re making because at some point they were performing to a certain level,” Schoen said. “Whether they were overvalued or maybe they got more than how they’re performing or not, that’s where you’re gonna have to free up money.”
In cases like Golladay’s, that may mean exploring the trade market. For others like cornerback James Bradberry, it may mean making a really tough call and thinning out another position.
“What I would like to do is not be in the situation where you do the big signing bonuses and you kick the can down the road,” Schoen said. “That’s not ideal for me. I like to do smaller signing bonuses and then roster bonuses in latter years, it gives you more flexibility.”
The Giants won’t be able to skate by on just simple restructures, however. Based on Over the Cap projections, they can only gain roughly $20 million in cap space that way, meaning other moves must be made.
“Then when we start to plan who are the players that we may have to look out for pay cuts or cut to get under the cap, we’re making educated decisions based on all the information we have,” Schoen added. “I think it’s important we take our time and do that the right way.”
That time will soon run out. The “legal tampering” window opens on March 14 with the new league year and free agency ushered in on March 16 at 4:00 p.m. ET. All of Schoen’s work and final decisions must be made by then.
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