Giants.com New York Giants GM Joe Schoen made it clear he had some financial limitations this offseason.
With rookies and select veterans reporting to New York Giants training camp this week, the NFL offseason is starting to fade in the rearview mirror.
For general manager Joe Schoen, late July is a time to reflect on the work he’s done so far in his first year with the Giants. Schoen recently shared his thoughts on the offseason with Paul Schwartz of the New York Post while attending a celebrity golf tournament.
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When asked about the rebuilding effort, Schoen took a not-so-veiled shot at the previous regime.
Giants GM Joe Schoen, at the Big Daddy Celebrity Golf Classic today at Oheka Castle, on the Giants heading into training camp: “With what we had we executed a plan. We were able to upgrade the roster with the resources we had.”
“Could we have done better? Yeah, if we had $40 million in cap space, yeah,” Schoen told the New York Post. “With what we had, I think we executed a plan. We were able to upgrade the roster with the resources we had.”
Translation: Former GM Dave Gettleman left the Giants with a mess that was impossible to clean up in one offseason.
The Giants were not big spenders in free agency — the largest contract they handed out was a three-year, $18.3 million deal to guard Mark Glowinski — and yet they currently rank 28th in 2022 salary cap space with a little over $6 million, according to Over The Cap.
Schoen had to make some difficult moves, such as release starting cornerback James Bradberry (who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles), but those moves have helped set up the franchise for future success. The Giants currently have the fourth most salary cap space in 2023 ($54.2 million) and the second most salary cap space in 2024 ($172.1 million), according to Over The Cap.
While the future is financially bright for the Giants, what does all of this mean for the 2022 team?
“I don’t think we’ll really know with this team — again, we got a lot of work to do — Week 3, Week 4, how are we gonna react when we’re up 14?” Schoen said, per the New York Post. “How are we gonna react when we’re down 14? Every year is a new year. It takes a while to figure out who your team is and how they respond to adversity, how they respond to success. … We’ve said since my opening press conference and [co-owner] John Mara said the same thing, we want to see progress. We want to see an upward trend that we’re getting better, we’re improving from the bottom of the roster to the top of the roster.”
Schoen Has No Updates on Kadarius Toney, Andrew Thomas
The Giants have two projected starters on offense who are working their way back from offseason surgeries: left tackle Andrew Thomas (ankle) and wide receiver Kadarius Toney (knee). Schoen was unable to provide a definitive update on either player before training camp.
“I would expect everybody will be all right,” Schoen told the New York Post.
Thomas recently told the Giants’ official media team that he’ll be “ready” for training camp, but Toney (who spent the spring in a red non-contact jersey) has not made a similar promise publicly.
Schoen Impressed by Daniel Jones’ Offseason Leadership
Earlier this month, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones organized a private workout in North Carolina with some of his pass catchers. Schoen was glad to see Jones take that initiative.
“The leadership element,” Schoen said, per the New York Post. “Those guys working together, the continuity, spending time together outside of the facility, I think all that’s important.”
Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract, after the Giants turned down his fifth-year option earlier this offseason.