The New York Giants are rolling through OTAs, and training camp will arrive before you know it. Let’s open the Big Blue View Mailbag and answer some questions.
Eric Lavignell asked: I’ve heard that the Giants’ 2023 salary cap situation looks very good, there is a possibility of an increase in the NFL’s salary cap, someone mentioned that the Giants may have more than $80 million, do you know what it looks like? I’m an optimist and I’ve seen the Giants put out a better product on the court this year, just not sure about the outcome, I’ve seen another top 10 pick and maybe have some money to fill some spots , and get even better in 2023.
your opinion?
Ed said: Eric, the one-year salary cap situation does look good. Not $80 million, but still good. Over The Cap estimates the Giants at $54.007 million, with a projected cap of $225 million. There are only four teams— chicago bears, Seattle Seahawks, new england patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers – Expect more.
A lot of things will change between now and then. If the Giants use the franchise tag on Daniel Jones, it is expected to cost $31.497 million. Saquon Buckley? If they tagged the running back instead of Jones, it would have cost $12.962 million.
What if the Giants moved from players like Kenny Galadi and Adori Jackson? This will change the numbers.
Finally, the Giants will have some money to spend. I hope they can buy higher-level free agents instead of all the one-year stopgap players they have to sign this offseason.
That doesn’t mean they’ll have money to splurge. Even when they do, big free-agent splashes usually don’t work. Fill demand with effective signings that don’t cap the salary cap, draft properly, and renew as good players as possible.
Ronald Buchheim asked: In your last article predicting the final roster, you said you thought Sills might be the sixth wide receiver. But in the last mailbag, you said Slayton could be replaced by players like CJ Bird, Rich James or Colin Johnson. Are you grading them before Sills now?
Ed said: Ronald, I should probably include David Sills on that list. Nothing has changed. I think Golladay, Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard and Wan’Dale Robinson are all roster locks, as long as they’re healthy. After that, no idea how the game will play out.
John McGruther asked: Do we know how much the Giants ended up saving by cutting Logan Ryan? I know there is some debate about this. He’s $20 million guaranteed and has only played one season under that contract with a PFF score of 60, so it’s a disastrous contract no matter how you look at it.
Ed said: John, when Ryan signed, the contract was understandable. He’s playing well and he’s the guy Joe Judge trusts to lead the locker room. Obviously, things have changed.
The Giants came with $11.45 million in dead money. It stinks, but these are tough decisions that have to be made when the regime and coaching staff change. The Giants simply decided that Ryan was a player they didn’t see as part of their future, and they didn’t want him to occupy a roster and steal in a year because of money.
This week I took to Twitter with some questions to round out Mailbag.
Ed said: Vlado, so far I think you have to look at Shane Lemieux as a starter. That was May 21st. What will the season look like when it starts on September 11? who knows?
Now, I’ll let Lemieux get started.He’s healthy offensive line coach Bobby Johnson seems like a fan.
After Lemieux, I’d probably go in the order of Max Garcia, Joshua Ezeudu, Ben Bredeson, Jamil Douglas. I think Ezeudu, a third-round pick, has a chance to finally start — if not Week 1, then sometime of the year. Now, though, as a rule of thumb, I have Garcia No. 2. Bledson is doing some work at center and it will be interesting to see if that helps him get a spot.
#bbvmailbag
Ed, wayyy early prediction request. Is 2023 any, all or none of the possibilities… Williams, Saquon, DJ, Shepard, assuming an average year for everyone.
There is a lot of capping money. I understand the variables of DJing and know it’s not as easy as it sounds.— Mark C (@gogints56) May 20, 2022
Ed said: Mark, some of these are easy. Some are not.
- Leonard Williams isn’t going anywhere. He’s still only 28 years old, a very good player, and has many top years left. He’s really a logical candidate on GM’s Joe Schoen roster for a contract extension that would help the Giants’ 2022 cap and lock in a good player in two or three years .
- Sterling Shepard? I doubt he’s a giant beyond this year. If you asked me to bet on that, I’d say it’s going to be his last year with the Giants at 80-20. It would be nice if not, but the Giants have too many injuries to pay Sheppard the kind of money he might want.
- Saquon Buckley? I’m a big fan of the Giants leaving Barkley this offseason. I still think it makes sense, and I still think it makes sense for them to consider an offer at the trade deadline. That said, if he has a good year and he stays with the Giants all season, I could see the organization use Barkley’s franchise tag ($12.962 million projected). Of course, you can only charter one player, and there’s Daniel Jones to consider.
- So, Jones? I think there’s a good chance that Terrod Taylor will be the Giants’ starter in the first week of next season. I like Jones and wish him success, but I think the Giants will consider the price of the quarterback (franchise tag is $31.497 million) and if Jones is good enough to be worth a long-term deal, the annual value could be higher , and think they want to do better for that kind of money. Odds? Let’s say 60 to 40 years old, he has a 60% chance of being somewhere else in 2023.
Personally, I would like to see both Bellinger and Allen become active players.what do you think of them #bigblueview
— Rudy D (@Madgiantsfan5) May 20, 2022
Ed said: Rudy, you’re referring to fourth-round pick Daniel Bellinger and undrafted rookie Austin Allen, both of whom play tight end. Honestly, I think you have a good chance of getting your wish.
Bellinger is making the roster and now I would say he has a chance to play quite a few games. He’s a solid pass-catcher who can play inside and out. During the rookie minicamp and Thursday’s OTA, you can see a very limited number of hands.
This week I had a chance to speak with Giants tight end coach Andy Bischoff, who is interested in Allen. He told me he was surprised Allen was out of the draft and thought he was another versatile player with multiple uses.
Camp had a very, very interesting tight end game. It will be fun to watch.
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