The New York Giants are expected to have approximately $37.8 million in available salary cap space this coming offseason (pending the cap ceiling).
They can squeeze a bit more if they re-work some contracts, but general manager Joe Schoen has done an excellent job of trimming the fat already.
Since Schoen became the Giants’ GM in January of 2021, he has been fiscally prudent and very creative with player contracts.
Schoen doesn’t have a lot of options this offseason when it comes to creating cap space, but we went up and down the roster and found four possibilities.
OL Mark Glowinski
Mark Glowinski is in the final season of a three-year, $18.3 million deal and the Giants have an out come March.
Glowinski played in just 13 games last year, starting six, and played on just 47 percent of the offensive snaps.
His 2024 cap hit is approximately $7.11 million with a dead cap charge of $1.5 million. The Giants could save in excess of $5.6 million by cutting ties.
TE Darren Waller
It would take a lot of courage to let Darren Waller go after just one season, but the Giants look like got left holding the bag here as Waller was banged up all season — a scenario they were hoping to avoid.
The going-on-32-year-old Waller made just 11 starts and played on 51 percent of the offensive snaps.
Is he worth the money the Giants are paying him? Waller has cap hits of $14.1 million, $15.5 million and $17.5 million over the next three seasons. They can save approximately $6.2 million (up to as much as $7 million) by cutting him this season.
If designated as a post-June 1 release, cutting Waller would save over $12 million against the cap. In either case, the dead cap hit would be around $7 million.
With all the young stud tight ends coming out of the college ranks these days, the Giants might simply be better off going in a different direction at tight end right now.
WR Darius Slayton
What? Didn’t Darius Slayton just have his best season ever as a Giant?
Yes, he did, but he’s on the books for nearly $8 million this season as part of the two-year, $12 million deal they inked him to last March.
They can theoretically save $6.2 million by cutting Slayton, whose deal is primarily incentive-laced.
Why they would do that is unknown as he is still an extremely productive player. Perhaps they should extend him and mete out his cap hit in the process if possible.
K Graham Gano
Graham Gano missed the last half of the season with a knee injury. He is on the books for $7.2 million next season with a dead cap hit of $9.7 million.
Gano will be 37 this season and missed 35 percent of his field goal tries last year, but much that can be attributed to his injuries.
The Giants might turn the page here on him as they are hiring a new special teams coordinator this offseason and could realize $2.5 to $2.6 million in salary cap relief by cutting ties with him.
Probably not worth it for the Giants to cut Gano but if they get desperate, options are minimal.
