In what has been a busy offseason for Joe Schoen, the NY Giants have managed to improve on both sides of the ball. However, things haven't been easy for the front office, as limited cap space has made life quite difficult for Schoen.
Lately, plenty of focus has been on the Saquon Barkley contract drama, with the two sides failing to come to terms on an extension. Barkley is now set to make $10.1 million on the non-exclusive franchise tag.
The New York Giants failed to reach an extension with Saquon Barkley before Monday's deadline. Now, there's at least a chance they don't see their star running back in 2023. https://t.co/Ah5fitdlbw
— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) July 20, 2023
While the Giants have plenty of cap space for next offseason, that doesn't take away from the fact that things are incredibly tight right now. With that said, here are the four worst contracts on the NY Roster heading into the 2023 campaign:
4. Mark Glowinski
Mark Glowinski signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Giants in 2022. While it was not necessarily the sexiest signing, it filled a void in what has been a revolving door of an offensive line over the years. Glowinski didn’t particularly light it up last season, but he was dependable, playing over 1,000 snaps.
Glowinski has an $8.35 million cap hit for this upcoming season, which is the 17th-highest amongst guards in 2023. That is a large hit for a player who allowed five sacks en route to an overall PFF grade of 63.3 last season, which ranked near the middle of the pack amongst guards in 2022.
The Giants have spent legitimate draft capital in recent years on guards who could fill Glowinski’s spot on the offensive line for a cheaper cost. Joshua Ezeudu was selected with the 67th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and Shane Lemieux was a fifth-round selection in 2020.
Glowinski is currently 31 years old and has another decently-sized cap hit for the 2024 season as well, coming in at $7.2 million. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
3. Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor will always have one of the coolest nicknames in NFL history. He is known as T-Mobile for his dual-threat ability as both a runner and a thrower of the football. Taylor is above-.500 in his career as a starter (26-25-1 in 52 starts), but his most recent opportunity as a starter for the Texans in 2021 didn’t go very well. After spending the first four years of his career with the Ravens, Taylor has played for five different teams since 2017.
Taylor is among the highest-paid backup quarterbacks in the league with an average salary of $5.5 million per year, with a $6.9 million cap hit in 2023. However, Daniel Jones is entering the first year of the four-year, $160 million contract he signed this offseason. The Giants have made a huge commitment to Danny Dimes, making it tough to justify spending so much money on a backup quarterback. Not to mention, Taylor also dealt with back and concussion injuries last season.
After suffering from some of the NFL’s worst backup quarterback play during Joe Judge’s era, the G-Men overcompensated for the position to try and make up for it. Giants fans will never forget Jake Fromm’s infamous third-and-long QB sneak.
2. Adoree’ Jackson
After being surprisingly cut by the Titans, Adoree’ Jackson signed a three-year contract worth $39 million in 2021 with the Giants. Jackson is a freakishly-athletic and fast cornerback who has proven to be one of the better man coverage corners in the NFL. However, the two biggest issues for Jackson throughout his career have been consistency and health. He missed six games last season and has missed three or more games each season dating back to 2019.
Jackson enters 2023 with a $19 million cap hit, which is 8.3 percent of the team’s cap (second-highest among cornerbacks for 2023). He also has the second-highest base salary among cornerbacks in the NFL for this upcoming season.
The G-Men are paying a steep price for a cornerback who didn’t make the list of best cornerbacks in the NFL ranked by executives, players, scouts, and coaches. Additionally, he also didn’t make the honorable mentions list or others receiving votes list.
Entering the last year of his contract, Jackson recorded zero interceptions last season. He turns 28 years old in September and it remains to be seen if the Giants will extend him. For what it’s worth, the Giants just spent a first-round pick on Deonte Banks.
1. Leonard Williams
Leonard Williams made a serious splash in his first full season with the Giants in 2020 after being traded from the Jets, recording a career-high 11.5 sacks. Unfortunately, he has not been able to replicate that production since. He recorded 2.5 sacks in 2022 and has a combined nine sacks in the last two seasons.
Entering the final year of the three-year, $63-million deal he signed back in 2021, Williams’ contract accounts for 14 percent of the Giants’ 2023 payroll. He has the largest 2023 cap hit of any defensive end in the NFL, above 2022 All-Pros Myles Garrett and Nick Bosa. The former No. 6 overall selection is 29 years old and missed five games in 2022 due to a neck injury. He has played one full season since 2018 and hasn’t been back to the Pro Bowl since he was selected in 2016.
According to Williams, the G-Men have not reached out regarding a contract extension. The team signed defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson this offseason, who spent the last two years as a starter for the Rams before suffering a torn meniscus. After giving Dexter Lawrence a four-year, $90 million extension this offseason, a Williams extension may not be coming at all. His cap hit for 2023 is an alarming $32.2 million. Yeah, that stings for Schoen and Co.
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