Giants to hold on to James Bradberry until after the draft?

New Giants general manager Joe Schoen made it clear at the start of the offseason that he intended to shed a significant amount of salary. While he has been able to do just that through a number of moves that were expected to be made, one of the biggest questions on the team centers on cornerback James Bradberry. 

Many felt that the team would trade or release the 28-year-old before the new league year started Wednesday afternoon. Instead, as SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano reports, New York may now hold on to him until after the draft at the end of April.

The team has been fielding trade calls on the former second rounder, which still means he could be moved at any point. As Vacchiano notes, however, his market hasn’t been strong up to this point, since teams are aware of the cap savings the Giants would generate (just over $10.1M) if they released him. Bradberry is due $13.4M in salary this season – $2M of which became guaranteed when the new league year began – but carries a cap hit of over $21.8M on his current contract.

Vacchiano notes that keeping Bradberry is still an option for the Giants. The 2020 Pro Bowler has only missed a pair games during his two-year tenure in the Big Apple, in which he has totaled seven interceptions and 35 pass breakups. As the most important piece to the teams’ secondary, he would therefore play a large role if new defensive coordinator Don Martindale's scheme is to be successfully implemented.

Nothing currently appears imminent on the Bradberry front, then, which may remain the case for at least another month or so.