New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen would like to stick to his guns and not extend some of the bloated player contracts he inherited from his predecessor, Dave Gettleman.
There will have to be exceptions to that, of course, as in the potential case of star cornerback James Bradberry.
Bradberry has been the subject of trade rumors due to his high salary cap hit and the Giants’ dire need for salary cap space, and a recent New York Daily News report says the team close to dealing him.
However, while speaking with reporters at the NFL owners meetings on Monday, Schoen left the door open to extending Bradberry’s contract.
“He’s a good corner who was a Pro Bowler two years ago (2020), and he’s 28-years old and can still play at a high level and he’s on our roster,” Schoen said of Bradberry. “People have called about certain players and people have value. Again, like I said, he’s 28-years old. He’s two years removed from a Pro Bowl season. He’s still a high caliber starting corner.
“If it’s the right offer and it makes sense for the New York Giants, then I’ve got to consider (it). . . a last resort is converting and restructuring contracts, so there’s ways we can get creative if we need to.”
Bradberry is entering the third year of a three-year, $43.5 million deal which carries a salary cap hit of $21,863,889 for 2022. The Giants could simply release him but they would still be on the hook for approximately $12 million in the form of a dead cap charge.
The Giants don’t want to trade the 28-year-old former Pro Bowler if they don’t have to, but they almost have to. They are barely under the league’s $208.6 million salary cap and Bradberry’s is the only contract on their roster they can terminate or renegotiate that would provide them the much needed salary cap space to operate this season.
There has been some reported interest in Bradberry by teams around the league, but the sticking point has been his lofty salary. Teams are asking the Giants to absorb a portion of that to level out the trade — something the Giants are reportedly open to in the right scenario.
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