The New York Giants have spent the last three years in a state of architectural limbo, but as the 2026 offseason begins, the blueprints have finally been signed.
By hiring John Harbaugh to replace Brian Daboll and witnessing the skillset of Jaxson Dart, Big Blue has found its new identity. Yet, as the team prepares for the April draft with the No. 5 overall pick, a cold reality has set in: the Giants are, still, functionally broken.
The one question general manager Joe Schoen must answer before April is: How will the Giants manufacture the $30 million in cap relief required to fulfill Harbaugh’s physicality mandate without gutting the defensive core that kept them competitive?
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The Giants’ roster is top-heavy in a way that would make even a skyscraper lean in the Big Apple.
Four players -- Brian Burns ($36.5M), Dexter Lawrence ($26.9M), Paulson Adebo ($24.3M), and Andrew Thomas ($24.2M) -- account for nearly 40% of the team's total salary cap. Currently, the Giants sit with less than $7 million in effective cap space, per Spotrac.
Harbaugh’s systems in Baltimore were famous for their depth and next-man-up reliability. To replicate that in New York, Schoen must perform surgery on the present massive contracts.
Restructures for Burns and Lawrence could theoretically unlock $24 million instantly, but doing so kicks the financial can into Dart’s "expensive" years. It's a high-wire act of balancing today’s wins against tomorrow’s bankruptcy.
The Thibodeaux Trade Winds
Adding to the drama is the cooling relationship with former top-five pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. While Thibodeaux remains a talent, his $14.7 million cap hit is a significant burden for a player who has struggled with consistency.
Rumors are swirling that Harbaugh, who prioritizes high-motor edge setters, may look to move Thibodeaux before April to recoup the third-round pick lost in the Dart trade. Moving Thibodeaux would not only provide a fresh start for the former first-rounder, but would also provide the 'Harbaugh Tax' needed to potentially sign a veteran interior offensive lineman to help keep Dart upright.
A Critical April at No. 5
Because the Giants are so cash-strapped in free agency, the No. 5 overall pick is no longer a luxury -- it’s a life raft. If they fail to clear cap space to sign a veteran DB, they could be forced to take an impact player like LSU's Mansoor Delane at five. If they manage to fix the cap, they could stay on target to draft a premier OT, or add another edge to an already dynamic pair of Carter and Burns (assuming Thibodeaux is gone).
For Harbaugh, he didn't come to New York to manage a rebuild; he came to win a division. But to execute that vision, Schoen has to win the spreadsheet war first.
Between now and the first night of the draft in April, every restructure, cut, or trade will be a referendum on whether the Giants are truly ready to compete, or if they are simply rearranging furniture in a house they can't afford.