What now? After cutting veteran guard Kevin Zeitler to save $ 12 million, the New York Giants are just $ 3.283 million below the $ 182.5 million salary cap, for Over The Cap.
This is not going to be enough for the Giants to do anything on a free will basis. What can the Giants do to create more space after breaking with Zeitler, Golden Tate, Cody Core and David Mayo, and restructuring Levine Toilolo?
Let’s take a look at some of the possibilities.
Leonard Williams
The biggest problem the Giants currently have is the $ 19.351 million franchise mark that they felt they should put in Leonard Williams to keep him out of the free agent market.
I certainly understand the Giants’ desire to keep Williams. He is a very good 26-year-old player that they consider part of his soul and want to build him up in defense. However, readers of this site know that I am opposed to using the franchise brand to make this happen.
I know the belief is that the Giants issued the tag as a replacement, to reaffirm their commitment to Williams and keep him in the fold while they negotiate a long-term deal. They will be paralyzed when they join the free agency, however, if they fail to reach an agreement in the next few days that takes, say, $ 12 million or more from Williams’ 2021 ceiling.
Nate Solder
After giving up on the 2020 season, the offensive veteran seems less than fully committed to playing again in 2021. Coach Joe Judge said this week that he talked to Solder and that “other areas of our building” also discussed with Solda. Perhaps this is an indication that the Giants are working to keep Solder, perhaps as a veteran swing tackle behind Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart, while getting rid of the $ 16.5 million and $ 18 million limits in the remaining two years of his business.
In the end, the Giants will likely end up having to cut the 32-year-old striker. if they designate a post-June 1 cut, they can save $ 10 million against the limit, while carrying a maximum limit of $ 6.5 million. Considering the current need to free up money for a free agency, the Giants may not be able to do so. Cutting it now would basically reverse those numbers, saving $ 6 million while carrying $ 10 million in dead money.
What else can giants do?
Williams and Solder’s movements are obvious. There are other, less obvious things that the Giants can do to make more room for the limit.
Restructuring Sterling Shepard
I know what GM Dave Gettleman said the other day about not liking restructuring because it’s just “kicking the can” down the road. Gettleman understands, however, that they are a necessary evil in a world of wage ceilings. In the case of Shepard, doing so makes a lot of sense.
Shepard has three years left on his four-year $ 41 million contract. He has a base salary of $ 6.975 million in 2021 and a cap of $ 9 million. Perhaps convert $ 5 million of that base salary into a subscription bonus that would be distributed over those three seasons, and the Giants could save nearly $ 1.7 million by the end of this year.
Trade Evan Engram or Will Hernandez
I am not recommending any of the changes. Just by raising the possibility that the Giants could probably get at least some kind of compensation in the draft, which they could use with just six selections in the next draft, in exchange for any of those players.
Engram is playing this season in his fifth year option at a cost of $ 6,013 million. I supported the maintenance of Engram. The giants seem to believe him despite his inconsistencies. Here’s what Judge said about Engram earlier this week:
“I love Evan. I have a lot of confidence in Evan. He’s fun to train, the guys have fun playing with him, he gives everyone in the locker room a ton of confidence. This guy goes there every day and this guy works tirelessly, I mean, tirelessly. This guy is a tank every day, so in terms of trust within the program, we certainly trust him, 100 percent. He’s a guy that we obviously have to continue to be on the attack. “
Engram is a player who has often disappointed in his four seasons. Still, he has physical abilities that many who play in his position do not. Could there be teams willing to give the Giants draft capital in the middle of the round in exchange for a chance to unlock them? Would that be enough for the Giants to move on? I don’t know, but it is a consideration.
As for Hernandez, his status remains somewhat mysterious. After cutting Zeitler, the Giants may be planning to go with Hernandez and Shane Lemieux as their initial guards, although someone obviously has to transition to the unknown right side.
However, it seemed clear at the end of last season that the Giants preferred Lemieux over Hernandez, despite Lemieux’s obvious difficulties in protecting passes. Hernandez may not be Joe Judge’s cup of tea, and he probably wasn’t the player Gettleman expected to be calling in 2018, but he is still an early-caliber NFL guard. Would the Giants move Hernandez and save his base salary of $ 2.183 million in exchange for, say, a choice in the fifth round? This is something they don’t currently have, so maybe.