Getty The New York Giants have agreed to restructure linebacker Blake Martinez's contract ahead of the 2022 season.
For the second straight day, the New York Giants were able to come to a resolution with one of their high-priced veteran players.
On Friday evening, March 11, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the Giants and middle linebacker Blake Martinez have agreed to restructure his deal ahead of the 2022 season. This news was later confirmed by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post.
LB Blake Martinez has restructured his contract to remain with the #Giants in 2022, per source. Martinez led the league in tackles in 2017 and has been a key staple for the GMen defensively.
Martinez’s contract was projected to count as a $14.025 million salary cap hit for the Giants this season. If the Giants were to cut Martinez, they would’ve saved $8.5 million, but suffered a dead cap hit of $5.5 million.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the Giants are expected to save up to $6 million after restructuring Martinez’s deal. Martinez is entering the final season of a three-year, $30 million contract that he signed with the Giants back in 2020.
Martinez, 28, was the Giants’ leading tackler (151) during his first campaign with the team, and was named a defensive captain by ex-head coach Joe Judge across the last two seasons. Martinez tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2021 regular season against the Atlanta Falcons, but he is expected to be ready for the start of next season. Martinez spent the first four seasons of his career with the Green Bay Packers, and had a close relationship with ex-Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
In addition to Martinez, the Giants also restructured wide receiver Sterling Shepard’s deal on Thursday. Shepard suffered a torn achilles against the Dallas Cowboys back in December, and agreed to a significant pay cut in order to stick with the team that drafted him in the second-round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of the University of Oklahoma.
Cap Moves
With the tampering period set to begin at noon E.T. on Monday, March 14, general manager Joe Schoen has been making a vigorous effort to clear cap space, so the Giants can address some of their needs in free agency. While Schoen is hoping to free up around $40 million in cap space, he still has some work left to do if the organization is going to achieve this goal.
At the start of the offseason, the Giants were $11 million over the cap. But in the last two weeks, Schoen has been able to shed around $25 million by re-working Martinez’s and Shepard’s deals, and cutting tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith, running back Devontae Booker and punter Riley Dixon.
According to Tom Rock of Newsday, Shepard and Martinez will both be making base salaries of $2.25 million in 2022. Their restructured contracts will include incentives that have the chance to reach around $5 million in their new deals. As Rock went onto report, Martinez’s cap number will go from $14 million to $8 million, while Shepard’s will drop from $12.4 million to $6.5 million.
The Giants could also look to trade cornerback James Bradberry ($21.8 million cap hit, $9.7 dead cap hit if released) and running back Saquon Barkley ($7.2 million cap hit, guaranteed money).
Free Agent Strategy
While Schoen must get creative in order to clear additional cap room, there are a few routes that the Giants can take in free agency this week without breaking the bank.
Schoen and the Giants got the ball rolling by signing veteran swing tackle Matt Gono, who was released by the Falcons in January, to a one-year deal last week. These are the type of cheap depth moves that the Giants must hit on to rebuild their offensive line, which will also be addressed in the draft, as quickly as possible for quarterback Daniel Jones.
Despite having a tight budget, the Giants should target offensive line help and a veteran tight end once free agency kicks off on Monday. On the defensive side, don’t expect any major acquisitions, but Don “Wink” Martindale could use a run-stuffing defensive tackle and linebacker depth as well.
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