Fansided

3 surprise cuts the Giants can make this offseason

By Mike Phillips

Giants General Manager Joe Schoen is shown seconds before introducing the Giants new head coach, Brian Daboll (not shown), in East Rutherford, NJ. Monday, January 31, 2022
Giants General Manager Joe Schoen is shown seconds before introducing the Giants new head coach, Brian Daboll (not shown), in East Rutherford, NJ. Monday, January 31, 2022 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – OCTOBER 17: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Sterling Shepard #3 of the New York Giants in action against the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium on October 17, 2021, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Los Angeles Rams defeated the New York Giants 38-11. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – OCTOBER 17: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Sterling Shepard #3 of the New York Giants in action against the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium on October 17, 2021, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Los Angeles Rams defeated the New York Giants 38-11. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

The New York Giants are kicking off a new rebuild and have a salary cap mess to fix, which could force new GM Joe Schoen to make a few surprise cuts.

There are few situations in the NFL that require more heavy lifting than the one facing the New York Giants. Poor decisions by Dave Gettleman have left the Giants in a mess with a roster that is both mediocre and highly overpaid, creating a mess that new GM Joe Schoen will have to fix.

Schoen has experience working out of a salary cap mess alongside Brandon Beane in Buffalo and it is worth noting that the pair were willing to absorb a ton of dead money in their first year to clean up the cap for the future. With the Giants already $12 million over the projected cap for 2022, Schoen will have to make a few painful cuts to get New York’s salary cap situation in order as quickly as possible.

Giants free agency: 3 players they could cut

3. Surprise cuts for the New York Giants – WR Sterling Shepard

Injuries have been an issue for Shepard in the past but he has been a solid receiver for the Giants over the years. That was not the case in 2021 as Shepard played in just seven games due to various injuries, catching 36 passes for 366 yards and one touchdown.

Wide receiver is one of the few positions where the Giants have decent depth with Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton and Kadarius Toney also on the roster. Shepard would appear to be the odd man out as an injury-prone 29 year old who likely won’t be a major contributor when New York is ready to contend again.

Schoen could opt to cut Shepard now and save $4.5 million on the cap while creating $7.9 million in dead money. Designating Shepard as a post-June 1 cut would create $8.5 million in room with just under $4 million in dead money so it would appear to be simply a matter of when the Giants opt to move on.

Home/New York Giants