With one first-round draft pick signed and one to go, the Giants created some extra salary-cap space.
The Giants restructured left tackle Andrew Thomas’ $117.5 million contract by converting salary into a signing bonus to create $6.46 million in salary-cap space, as first reported by ESPN. The Giants could have created another $4.5 million in salary-cap space with a max restructure of Thomas’ deal, which runs through 2029.
Players do not need to approve simple restructures because it does not affect their pay and is geared toward team accounting, spreading out a payment evenly over the multiple years remaining on a contract.
The Giants have $11.9 million in salary-cap space, according to Wednesday’s NFLPA records. It does not account for Thomas’ restructure or the recent signing of rookie offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa.
Linebacker Arvell Reese, the No. 5 pick in the draft, has not yet signed his projected four-year, $47.8 million contract that will include an $8.6 million salary-cap charge.
Mauigoa, the No. 10 pick, signed his four-year, $30.9 million contract ($5.6 million against the cap).
The Giants also are working out veteran defensive tackles after the season-ending injury to Roy Robertson-Harrison.
And fan-favorite receiver Odell Beckham Jr. looms as a possible free-agent addition, though it is unclear whether he would be willing to accept a minimum contract.
One unspoken part of restructures is a vote of confidence that the player will be with the team for years to come, because otherwise it is kicking potential dead money down the road if a player is released before his contract is up.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
