The cap situation for the New York Giants naturally isn’t as good as it was before this offseason. The Giants spent big to bring in new additions and retain important players from last year’s roster, in the hopes of turning things around and making the playoffs in 2021. But could they improve their standing with the salary cap by making a trade this season that would offload a player with a large contract?
CBS Sports listed the Giants as one team that could make such a trade in an article predicting surprise players that could switch teams during training camp. Among the names listed was Jabrill Peppers, who looks to have plenty of security with the Giants right now. Despite being secure in his spot, though, the Giants have other high profile players at Peppers’ position and could do well to save money by moving on.
He’s still a big name with a big role, but with 2022 free agency on the horizon, Peppers could be dangled for the chance to gain $6.8M in cap savings for a team with just $2.4M in current space. It’s not as if New York hasn’t invested in alternatives at the position, paying up to retain Logan Ryan, recently spending a high pick on Xavier McKinney and finding snaps for the versatile Julian Love.
To put it simply, the Giants are paying a lot for Peppers when they have others that can fill the role well. Logan Ryan is on a good sized deal of his own and looks like the leader at the safety position, and the Giants also still have Xavier McKinney to develop into a player on a similar caliber to Ryan or Peppers. When you add in Julian Love to the mix, the position looks quite crowded.
It would be understandable if the Giants did want to move on from Peppers and clear some cap space while getting back something in return in a trade.
There’s nothing wrong with Peppers’ play on the field, after all, even if it’s clear why the Giants might want to move on from a teambuilding perspective. Given that, it also wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants got a decent draft pick in return for sending him elsewhere.