3. Rhett Ellison
The one name on this list that is courtesy of Jerry Reese, tight end Rhett Ellison has failed to come close to living up to his 4/$18M contract he signed in 2017. Ellison’s cap number makes him the #13 highest-paid tight end in football, and since he’s not even one of the best two tight ends on his own team it’s easy to see why he needs to be moved on from.
Although Gettleman didn’t sign Ellison, he did make matters worse when he restructured $1.8M of Ellison’s salary to fit – wait for it- Leonard Williams under the 2019 cap to make that trade somehow look even worse now.
Ellison has failed to eclipse 25 receptions, 275 yards or two touchdowns in any of his three seasons with the NY Giants. Despite being a solid blocker, that production is simply not enough to justify his $7.1M 2020 cap hit in the last year of his deal. Big Blue would have been able to move on from him for almost no cap trouble, but after the restructure will incur a $2.1M dead cap charge.
2020 Cap savings: $5M
Chance it happens: 90%