The New York Giants have made their first big cuts of the offseason. With free agency just weeks away, New York has made moves to clear up cap space. According to Ian Rapoport, the Giants released wide receiver Golden Tate and linebacker David Mayo tonight.
Both of these moves were expected, but they are now official. Cutting Golden Tate freed up $6.2 million in salary-cap space for the Giants. Cutting David Mayo freed up $2.3 million in salary-cap space. With these two moves, the Giants have made $8.5 million in cap space available to themselves for free agency.
Golden Tate was the Giants’ big free-agent signing in the 2019 offseason. Tate was brought in to replace Odell Beckham Jr.’s production but never met those expectations. Golden spent two seasons with the Giants, totaling 84 receptions for 1,064 yards and 8 touchdowns. Tate’s dead cap hit in 2021 will be around $4.7 million.
The Giants cut David Mayo from a very team-friendly contract. Mayo leaves behind $0 in dead cap. He also spent only two seasons with the Giants, signing in 2019. He was a starter for most of the 2019 season, totaling 82 combined tackles and 2 sacks. But, fighting through injuries in 2020, Mayo’s impact lessened to 29 combined tackles, 2 starts, and only 11 games played.
The Giants found a gem in Tae Crowder at the end of the 2020 NFL Draft. The team is presumably comfortable moving ahead with Crowder beside Blake Martinez. At wide receiver, it is no secret that the Giants are in the market for a new offensive weapon. The writing was on the wall for Golden Tate, especially after his public, off-the-field drama with the coaching staff in the middle of the 2020 regular season.
The 2021 offseason is heating up. Expect to see plenty more cuts around the league. With the salary cap expected to drop this year, teams will be releasing veterans to free up as much space as possible. The Giants might not be done making cuts ahead of the New League Year. The Giants have a couple of impending free agents to extend this offseason in Dalvin Tomlinson and Leonard Williams. They also have some holes to fill on both sides of the ball. The New York Giants were already over the salary cap, but these moves will bring them under and prepare them for free agency.