The New York Giants have a good amount of holes to fill entering the 2024 NFL offseason, but their salary cap situation isn’t exactly among the league’s best. While the franchise should have a little more than $26 million to work with when free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft rolls around, they have more issues than they’d like with that cap number. Still, we’ve seen Giants general manager Joe Schoen work magic with less, even if he’s made some questionable decisions over the last year.
The Giants do have some talent, as building blocks like Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas are locked in long term due to extensions Schoen gave them. Additionally, players like Bobby Okereke and Deonte Banks flashed in 2023, and are primed to take another step next season.
Still, with some glaring issues that could sink their season, it remains to be seen how the Giants will address them. As they enter the offseason hamstrung by some players who haven’t been carrying their weight, here are four contracts that are holding the franchise back at the moment.
4. QB Daniel Jones
Let’s start with the obvious, even though it’s the most important position in football, the contract Schoen gave quarterback Daniel Jones has aged like milk so far. While Jones missed a majority of the season with injuries, he wasn’t anything to write home about when he was actually on the field.
The former Duke Blue Devils quarterback amassed two passing touchdowns while throwing six interceptions. That’s far from what you expect from a franchise quarterback. Entering 2024, Jones’ cap hit is an eye-popping $47.1 million next season. Yes, the Giants have an out after next season, but they’d still have over $20 million in dead money if they rid themselves of Jones.
When you’re picking No. 6 overall in the draft, and you’re in the situation the Giants find themselves in, you’re usually in the market for a quarterback. Instead, New York is hamstrung by Jones’ gigantic contract, and they’re not receiving anything close to bang for their buck at the moment.
3. TE Darren Waller
At the moment, Darren Waller is slated to have the fourth-highest cap hit on the team in 2024. That’d be well and good if he was performing the way he did for the Las Vegas Raiders over many seasons, but the Giants saw a ghost of the former Pro Bowl tight end last fall.
Waller missed numerous games due to injuries last season, but that isn’t something the Giants weren’t weary of entering 2023, as they knew that could be a possibility with the tight end. It was his performance on the field that was worrisome, as Waller only caught one measly touchdown for the team in Year 1 with Big Blue.
Now, the Giants passing game wasn’t anything to get excited about for a majority of the season, and team’s frequently made sure to take Waller away. Still, he’s supposed to be a game-changer and at times a game-wrecker, and he wasn’t anything close to that last season.
There’s a potential out for the Giants after next season, but that would carry almost $8 million in dead money. As it stands, Waller is under contract through 2026. Will he begin to play at a level worth the money he’s receiving? That’s the question Schoen and company have to ask themselves, and quickly.
2. K Graham Gano
Since joining the Giants prior to the 2020 season, Graham Gano has rejuvenated his NFL career. Over his first three seasons with the franchise, he was arguably their best player, continually racking up numbers that would put him among the best kickers in the league.
However, Gano’s age 36 season in 2023 did not go well, which was detrimental for a team that found themselves in some close games. He missed kicks that you wouldn’t normally even have to look up from your phone to see go through the uprights. Gano was that automatic before he got the yips in '23.
Now, some believe it could be due to him trying to play through an injury. That certainly seemed to be the case when he missed what would’ve been a game-winner against the New York Jets. Still, nothing’s guaranteed when you're Gano’s age, even if the Giants inked the kicker to an extension last season.
At the moment, Gano carries the eighth-highest cap hit on the Giants roster, at more than $7 million for 2024. He’ll be worth that if he gets back to his usual self, but if Gano performs like he did last season, you can’t help but to think of all the other ways Schoen could've spent that chunk of change.
1. OL Mark Glowinski
Finally, we’ve reached the biggest discrepancy between their cap hit and their impact on the team in Giants offensive lineman Mark Glowinski. The former Indianapolis Colts lineman was signed during Schoen’s first free agency with the franchise, and immediate buyer’s remorse was had by the franchise. Glowinski was supposed to help stabilize a Giants offensive line that’s been yearning to improve for the better part of a decade, but he didn’t live up to the expectations placed on him over his first two seasons with the team.
During his first season with the team, his $3 million cap hit was manageable. In 2023, that moved up to more than $8 million, which would’ve been fine if the Giants got some quality play out of him, but instead Glowinski was relegated to the bench. Entering 2024, the offensive lineman carries a cap hit of more than $7 million.
However, Schoen has an option, one that he’s almost guaranteed to take. Glowinski could be cut for only $1.5M in dead cap, which would save the Giants $5.5 million if they choose to go that route. Of course, the Giants would happily pay Glowinski that money if he played up to par, but there’s no reason to expect him to do so at the moment.
Schoen knows he has to fix the offensive line, and cutting Glowinski and using the money elsewhere may be the best option on the table for the Giants. The offensive lineman’s time in New York will go down as a major disappointment, but it’s better than adhering to the sunk-cost fallacy with Glowinski in 2024.