The New York Giants entered the offseason in disastrous financial shape. They were cash-strapped and the primary order of business for general manager Joe Schoen was clearing upwards of $40 million from the cap.
That’s a job Schoen is still working on, but he was able to clear enough to allow the Giants to address some needs in free agency. They were also able to restructure the contracts of wide receiver Sterling Shepard and linebacker Blake Martinez.
Ultimately, however, there were no flash moves or big-ticket signings. The most notable addition came in the form of guard Mark Glowinski.
That was the aftermath of Dave Gettleman. It left Schoen in an undesirable situation, but one he made the most out of. And despite the obvious limitations, Schoen’s moves were enough to earn the Giants an offseason grade of “C” courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Ian Wharton.
Unable to spend in free agency after the disastrous spree former general manager Dave Gettleman went on throughout his tenure, the Giants needed to retain any reasonable contributor they could afford and then add depth wherever possible. By keeping Sterling Shepard, Blake Martinez and signing right guard Mark Glowinski, the Giants succeeded. This offseason is more about the team’s two first-round picks (No. 5 and No. 7 overall).
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The only other path the Giants could have taken was to sell off their veterans for the most draft capital. Barkley, James Bradberry and even Kenny Golladay may have fetched Day 3 picks. Instead of trying to replace them with risky draft picks from a weak class, the Giants have to hope each plays at a high level in 2022 and contributes to wins.
That may be true for Barkley and Golladay, but the door hasn’t been shut on a trade of Bradberry. The Giants have roughly $6.65 million in available cap space and that’s not even enough to sign their nine-player draft class (assuming they make all nine picks). They’ll also need extra money to carry into the season as injury protection.
Needless to say, the offseason maneuvering for Joe Schoen isn’t over quite yet.
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