The New York Giants have approximately $43.38 million to work with in 2025 cap space according to Over the Cap, but the argument could be made that $43 million is not nearly enough.
The Giants have several holes to fill all across their roster. Not to mention president and CEO John Mara made it clear that heads will roll if he doesn’t see significant signs of improvement.
This team needs a jump start, and the best way to do that is for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll to hit on a combination of free agent signings and draft picks, reshaping this roster overnight.
In order to free up even more spending money as they attempt to do that, Pro Football Network writer Ben Rolfe identified former fourth-round tight end Daniel Bellinger as a potential cut candidate.
Bellinger was a member of Schoen and Daboll’s original draft class, so they might not be inclined to give up on him compared to an older veteran or recent signing. The San Diego State product got off to a promising start as a rookie too, posting 30 catches for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Having said that, Big Blue could clear the tight end’s entire base salary off the books as a former fourth rounder that’s entering the final year of his rookie contract. That comes out to exactly $3.325 million in savings according to Over the Cap — which is a decent amount for a player that saw his offensive snap share get chopped in half in 2024.
The Giants would incur a dead cap charge of $198,278 if they were to part ways with the fourth-year tight end.
Daniel Bellinger Cut Decision Comes Down to Whether or Not Giants Believe There’s More Room to Grow
Bellinger was replaced by rookie Theo Johnson last April, and before long, the newcomer was getting reps as the primary tight end. To make matters worse, veteran tight end Chris Manhertz also began cutting into Bellinger’s usage as a blocker, and the combination of acquisitions really lessened the former starter’s role.
On the season, Johnson led the way with 681 offensive snaps despite only appearing in 12 games due to injury (snap counts via Pro Football Focus). The next tight end was Bellinger with 364, but Manhertz finished just after that at 343 snaps.
That begs the question — is a borderline TE2 really worth a $3.523 million cap hit?
In reality, probably not. But Bellinger’s age and recent draft status could end up buying him one more year.
Bellinger only turns 25 in September, and there could still be some more room to grow considering his flashes as a rookie. At the same time, this is expected to be a strong TE draft class, and it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Giants decided to move on from the 6-foot-6 prospect sometime this summer — especially if they draft another rookie and re-sign Manhertz on similarly affordable deal.
Giants Have Several Opportunities to Restructure Veteran Contracts Ahead of NFL Free Agency
As mentioned above, with Johnson injured, it feels like a Bellinger cut would come later this summer — if it occurs at all.
In the meantime, the Giants can free up extra cap space by restructuring a few of their veteran contracts.
According to Pro Football Network, NYG can save large amounts like $12.584 million, $16.185 million, $9.887 million, $3.915 million and $4.040 million by agreeing to a “conventional restructure” with the following players (in corresponding order): LT Andrew Thomas, OLB Brian Burns, DT Dexter Lawrence, LB Bobby Okereke and G Jon Runyan Jr.
Okereke was also labeled as a potential cap casualty earlier this offseason, and another possible cut candidate is veteran kicker Graham Gano.
Clearly, the Giants have several options to consider when it comes to freeing up more cap space in 2025.
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