The NFL franchise tag deadline is quickly approaching (Tuesday, March 9 at 4:00 p.m. EST) and the New York Giants still have a bit of housekeeping to do if they planning to use the tag on either of their impending free agent defensive linemen, Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson.
With the franchise tag deadline a little more than 48 hours away, important to note that the tag counts against the cap as soon as it's designated. So for the Giants to have the tag as an option with Leonard Williams, they're going to need to clear a decent amount of room soon.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) March 7, 2021
Per Spotrac, the Giants are just $1.385 million under the salary cap with a “top 51” number of $9.665 million, well short of what they will need to tag Williams, which is estimated to be $19.1 million. Tomlinson’s tag would be significantly less, estimated to be near $13 million for one year.
Over the Cap shows the Giants $6.064 million under the cap which is also their top 51 number. The top 51 number represents the top 51 rostered players currently under contract.
The Giants have some difficult decisions to make in the next nine days with only a few places to turn to open up cap space. One obvious move would be to release or restructure veteran offensive tackle Nate Solder. Releasing him could clear up around $10 million in cap space. Other moves could be to trade, extend or release right guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Jabril Peppers and/or tight end Evan Engram.
The remainder of their top 10 contracts are basically untouchable. The ink is still wet on the contracts of James Bradberry, Logan Ryan and Blake Martinez, who all signed deals last year. The other top contracts are their three latest top draft picks — Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones and Andrew Thomas and are fully guaranteed. Most of that money is already in their pockets.
