The New York Giants entered the 2022 off-season with a lot of ground to make up after general manager Dave Gettleman retired. He left behind bloated contracts and a disaster of a roster, but new GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have worked diligently to plug the holes.
Immediately, they began shedding dead weight and clearing money to help give them some flexibility. They cut safety Logan Ryan and desperately tried to trade corner James Bradberry before eventually releasing him.
In addition, they restructured the contracts of Blake Martinez and Sterling Shepherd, both of whom are coming off significant injuries. Martinez will count $7.6 million against the cap this year with Shepard counting $6.3 million.
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The New York Giants could use a bit more money, but they worked with what they had:
A bit more cash would’ve got a long way in helping Schoen build the roster a bit more proficiently, but he took an indirect shot at Gettleman for the state he left the team in.
“Could we have done better? Yeah, if we had $40 million in cap space, yeah,” Schoen said. “With what we had, I think we executed a plan.We were able to upgrade the roster with the resources we had.”
The Giants do seem to be upgraded at multiple spots, notably on the offensive line. They have four potential new starters, including a bright young rookie at right tackle in Evan Neal and their biggest free-agent signing, Mark Glowinski at right guard.
Glowinski signed a three-year, $18.3 million contract with the Giants, coming from the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts had a dominant running game last season, and Glowinski played an integral part during the second half of the year, showcasing fantastic grades.
However, management also had to beef up the offense to help quarterback Daniel Jones after rejecting his fifth-year option. He has one more season left to prove he can be a franchise-caliber quarterback, otherwise, Schoen and Co. will likely move on and find themselves a rookie in the 2023 draft.
There is still a lot of work left to do on the Giants roster, but they have plenty of youth to build around and lay the foundation before making a big free agent splash in the future with a projected $54 million in salary space next off-season.