At some point, Giants may have to cut James Bradberry
Giants cornerback James Bradberry at minicamp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on June 10, 2021. Credit: Brad Penner
At some point the “contingency plan” the Giants have been talking about as a way to keep James Bradberry will have to become just the plain old plan or they will need to cut him. With no clear successor to him on the roster after the draft, general manager Joe Schoen indicated that time could be imminent.
“Yeah, yeah, we’re going to work on that,” Schoen said on Saturday, noting he has continued to have conversations with Bradberry’s representatives. “We’ll see where that goes. I don’t have a definitive answer on that.”
The Giants have been trying to trade Bradberry since shortly after Schoen arrived, not because they are dissatisfied with his play but because his $21.8 million salary cap hit in 2022, which is the last year of his contract. Barring a deal – Schoen said on Friday he had not received any calls during the draft regarding Bradberry – the Giants would have to either cut him and get nothing in return except about $10 million in cap relief, or extend him and spread his cap hit out over ensuing seasons. Schoen has called that approach a “last resort” and his “contingency plan,” but with the bulk of the roster-building season now finished, it may be time to do so.
“I’m not going to put a timeline on it,” he said, “but we’re working through some things.”
One option may be to start conversations to swap players with other teams who now have superfluous veterans after the draft such as the Ravens who drafted safety Kyle Hamilton in the first round and may be inclined to move Chuck Clark. Clark played safety under new Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale in Baltimore.
Absent that, though, prolonging Bradberry’s departure only delays the inevitable.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
More Giants
