As anticipated, the New York Giants did not use the franchise or transition tag on any of their impending free agents this year.
The Giants chose to allow all of their free agency eligible players to hit the marketplace next week, including tight end Evan Engram, safety Jabrill Peppers, guard Will Hernandez and outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter.
The decision was basically made for the Giants as they are still approximately $7 million over the salary cap with just a week remaining before the league new year begins.
The Giants used the franchise tag the last two years on defensive lineman Leonard Williams and have only resorted to it sparingly since the league expanded and restructured in 2002: Jason Pierre-Paul (2015 and 2017), Steve Weatherford (2012) and Brandon Jacobs (2009).
The franchise tag salaries for each position is listed below and even if the Giants were flush with available cap space, they likely would not use it on any of the current players mentioned above.
NFL salary cap set at $208.2 million per team. Here are the non-exclusive franchise tag and transition tag numbers. pic.twitter.com/OJFh6kyvkL
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 7, 2022
The Giants are also on the clock when it comes to the fifth-year options on quarterback Daniel Jones and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. Those decisions must be made by early May.
