Things may finally be coming to an end between the New York Giants and cornerback James Bradberry.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen intimated that there should be a resolution by the end of the week to the situation with former Pro Bowl cornerback during a New York sports radio tour on Wednesday. Schoen praised the corner, but appeared to indicate that Bradberry’s days as a member of the Giants might be up.
“We’re working through that right now,” Schoen said during an appearance on WFAN with Craig Carton and Evan Roberts. “His agents have been great, we’ve been in constant communication. I’ve talked to James, it’s been very professional throughout the whole process, and we should have some resolution, hopefully, by the end of the week. It’s unfortunate because he’s a great kid. … Listen, he’s a starting corner in the league.
“It’s just where we are financially, we still gotta sign our draft picks, we gotta be able to sign our practice squad, and then have replacement costs early in the season.”
New York is in a bit of a cap crunch at the moment and clearing Bradberry’s three-year, $45 million contract from its books could help relieve some of that. The Giants need roughly twice the cap space they have available just to sign their 11 draft picks.
Bradberry comes with a $21.9 million cap hit this season, but they would save $10.1 million if they cut or trade him with that going to up to $11.5 if he is designated a post-June 1 release.
Schoen did say that the New York Giants had tried to move the 28-year-old, but he was surprised at the lack of suitors.
“I thought there would be more interest,” Schoen said. “There were some teams that showed interest pre-draft, and we had a couple different times compensation in place, and the contract never worked out. We did have good talks with other teams and (his) agent had good talks with teams. Sometimes if you are going to renegotiate a contract and you couldn’t come to an agreement, it is what it is.”
In a later conversation on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York, Schoen did float the idea of trying to restructure the contract as well instead of trading or cutting James Bradberry.
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“There’s a situation where we could convert the salary and kick it down the road,” Schoen said during the radio hit on ESPN New York. “But that’s why we are in the situation we are in, because of moves like that, which we are trying to avoid. It stinks because James is a great kid, he’s a true professional, he can still play. Obviously, if you move on from him, there’s a huge void on your roster. For what’s best long-term for the franchise, we’re trying to weigh that while also trying to compete today and build for tomorrow.
“We’re trying to find that fine line and that balance.”
Schoen has been tasked with digging the Giants out of cap hell and turning the franchise around after David Gettleman retired earlier this year and the organization fired head coach Joe Judge. New York is coming off a dismal 4-13 season in 2021.
