Giants Clear $10 Million in Cap Space With One Move

The New York Giants had a productive offseason, but entering the spring without a ton of cap space meant that signing a handful of defensive starters, along with quarterback Russell Wilson, was going to limit the team’s flexibility in 2025.

Entering Thursday, the Giants had the least cap space in the NFL (per Over the Cap). That’s a problem, given the rookie contracts left unsigned and the cap space they’ll take up. New York signed its top pick, edge rusher Abdul Carter, to a fully guaranteed deal worth $45 million.

To cover the first year of that cost, general manager Joe Schoen opted to get creative with one of his biggest contracts.

According to Field Yates, the Giants cleared $10 million in cap space by restructuring star edge rusher Brian Burns. This move turned part of Burns’ salary into a signing bonus, giving New York the breathing room to sign Carter.

The team may need to make additional restructures to sign quarterback Jaxson Dart, defensive tackle Darius Alexander, and running back Cam Skattebo. Fortunately, there isn’t any reason to panic about those deals not being sorted out yet, and there are other moves to be made to clear up more cap space.

Other veterans the Giants can restructure for significant cap space are defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and left tackle Andrew Thomas. To alleviate between $2 and $4 million, New York can restructure linebacker Bobby Okereke, guard Jon Runyan Jr., corner Paulson Adebo, and safety Jevon Holland (OTC).

Thus, the Giants aren’t necessarily stuck, despite their limited financial standing.

As for Burns, it’s important to note that the restructuring isn’t a pay cut, so there’s no pushback from the player’s perspective – it merely changes the way he receives his pay.

Burns and Carter are in line to start for New York along the edge, helping make one of the league’s best pass rushes that much better. With Kayvon Thibodeaux still in the fold and Lawrence having Alexander to help win in the interior, Schoen may finally reap the rewards of his heavy investments up front.