The Giants spent big money to bring in wide receiver Golden Tate as a free agent in 2018. They didn’t exactly get bang for their buck on his four year, $37.5 million deal.
He only lasted two years with the Giants.
The Giants released Tate on Wednesday in a cap-saving move. They also released reserve linebacker David Mayo.
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In two years, Tate only accumulated 1,064 receiving yards, which ranks 65th among all wide receivers from 2019-20. He also missed nine games total due to multiple suspensions and injuries.
Now, he’s gone so the Giants can have enough money too, most likely, pursue a wide receiver in free agency.
Vicious circle.
Here is a closer look at the Giants’ salary cap situation after these latest moves, and which moves could still be coming:
Cutting Golden Tate
The Giants will ultimately save $6.1 million by cutting Tate, though they’ll incur a $4.7 million dead cap penalty. They can clear more cap — with a lesser penalty — if they designate Tate a post-June cut, though they’d still have to carry his $10.8 million cap hit until June 1.
If they did that, which seems unlikely, they’d save $8.5 million with a $2.35 million dead cap penalty.
Cutting David Mayo
The 27-year-old Mayo had a decent debut season with the Giants in 2019, getting 82 tackles and two sacks while surprisingly starting 13 games. He was expected to remain a starter in 2021, at least after the Giants cut Ryan Connelly, but Mayo injured his knee in training camp and missed the first five weeks of the season.
By the time he returned, the Giants had already handed the keys over to rookie Tae Crowder, a seventh-round pick in 2020. Mayo still wound up starting two games but ultimately didn’t contribute much of anything on defense. He finished with 29 tackles.
The Giants save $2.3 million by cutting Mayo and won’t incur any dead cap penalty.
Current cap situation
Cap space before cutting Tate and Mayo (per Over the Cap) at a $180.5 million salary cap: $486,53.
Projected cap space after cutting Tate and Mayo: $7.4 million.
(Note: The NFL has yet to announce what the official salary cap will be, but it’s expected to be in the range of $180-185 million.)
What’s next
The Giants are still trying to sign defensive lineman Leonard Williams before he hits free agency and/or they decide to franchise tag him again. There’s also the possibility they try to re-sign defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, though it’s unlikely they wind up bringing both back.
Either way, $9 million is not near enough salary cap room to both re-sign one or both of those players while also pursuing any free agents of note.
Some other players that could be cut (or traded) in order to save cap:
OT Nate Solder: He intends to play this year, but it’d be a surprise if that was with the Giants. Cutting him now saves $6 million with a $10.5 million dead cap penalty. Cutting him with a post-June 1 designation saves $10 million with a $6.5 million dead cap penalty.
TE Levine Toilolo: They overpaid Toilolo, who at his best amounts to a third-string blocking tight end. Cutting him will save $2.95 million with no cap penalty.
WR Cody Core: The special teams ace missed all of last season due to injury and could still be brought back at a reduced rate, but for now cutting him would save $2 million with no penalty.
CB Isaac Yiadom: He showed flashes of being a capable cornerback, but was too inconsistent ultimately and the Giants will likely seek an upgrade at some point opposite James Bradberry. Yiadom might be safe. Cutting him would save $2.18 million with no penalty.
P Riley Dixon: He had a rough season but is typically reliable. The Giants do have Ryan Santoso on the roster on a futures deal after he spent the season on the practice squad. Cutting Dixon would save $2.67 million with a $250,000 penalty.
G Will Hernandez: The former second-round pick was benched for a fifth-round pick in 2020 and never got his job back. It’s unlikely they’d cut Hernandez, who could still compete to start, but it can’t be completely ruled out. Cutting him would save $2.18 million with a $874,680 penalty.
G Kevin Zeitler: He has a significant $14.5 million cap hit in 2021, and cutting or trading him would save $12 million … but he’s also their best and most consistent offensive lineman. More likely the Giants will agree to an extension of some sort to reduce that cap hit.
TE Evan Engram: He had a disappointing season, but the Giants could have traded him at the deadline and chose to keep him instead. It’s unlikely they’d cut him, but doing that — or trading him away — would save $6.013 million without any penalty.
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