The New York Giants weren’t expected to go hog wild in free agency this year, but they made quite a few moves in general manager Joe Schoen’s second season at the helm.
Through the first week of free agency, the Giants have $239.1 million in committed contracts, which is the most in the NFL.
The #Giants brought back a lot of their own players to reach this number but they lead in free agency with $239.1M committed to contracts. #Broncos are number 2 at $233M and that is more on outside free agents. #Saints are the other team over $200Mhttps://t.co/3aoHDXKJIg
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) March 19, 2023
Schoen’s big scores happened before the beginning of the league new year when he inked quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal and placed the $10.091 million franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley.
Other Giants retained thus far are: wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, linebacker Jarrad Davis, defensive end Jihad Ward, running back Matt Breida, punter Jamie Gillan, and long snapper Casey Kreiter.
Free agents signed from other teams: linebacker Bobby Okereke, wide receivers Parris Campbell and Jeff Smith, and defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches.
In other moves, Schoen traded a 2023 third-round draft pick (No. 100 overall) to Las Vegas in exchange for tight end Darren Waller and then converted $9.835 million of Waller’s 2023 salary into a signing bonus, clearing $7.3 million in cap space.
The Giants also released wide receiver Kenny Golladay, clearing $6.7M more in salary cap space.
Finally, the Giants re-signed four exclusive rights free agents, including wide receiver Isiah Hodgins and tight end Lawrence Cager.