The New York Giants enter the 2024 offseason with a distinct feeling of disappointment and some big questions.
Big Blue's 2022 season ended with a 9-7-1 record, a playoff win, and a Coach of the Year award for Brian Daboll. After looking like he had taken a big step forward in his development, quarterback Daniel Jones received a big contract extension.
One year later, and the Giants are in a very different situation.
Jones played in just six games in 2023 before tearing his ACL. In the games he played, Jones did not resemble the dual-threat passer that helped secure a postseason victory for New York the previous season. Between his torn ACL and the neck injury he dealt with, Jones is starting to look like more of an albatross than franchise savior.
Apologies to those who want another helping of Tommy Cutlets, however. In all likelihood, Jones will be back as QB1 for the Giants, if for no other reason than GM Joe Schoen built in an escape hatch that only comes into play after next season. Cutting Jones now would not only leave the team with no legitimate starting option under center, it would also cripple its salary cap.
While Jones is safe for now, what other players on the Giants roster should be worried about being cut loose this offseason? Here are three prime candidates for the Giants to cut entering the 2024 offseason.
TE Darren Waller
The Giants acquired Waller for a third-round pick from the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason. It seemed like a worthwhile gamble on an explosive player who had posted 1,000-yard seasons in both 2019 and 2020.
Waller's numbers dropped in the two subsequent seasons, but for a team without a bonafide number-one receiver, adding a target such as Waller made sense to help in Jones' continued progression.
The former Raider showed flashes of production, logging seven games with 40+ receiving yards. But he found the endzone just once, and missed five games due to a hamstring injury.
Waller will be 32 years old by the time the 2024 season starts, and he's set to make $14.5 million. That's simply too much to pay for someone who can't stay healthy and is nearing the age when players at his position begin to decline.
If the Giants stay put in the 2024 draft's sixth slot,would they be tempted to select Georgia phenom Brock Bowers as Waller's replacement? That would make cutting Waller and reaping the savings a no-brainer.
G Mark Glowinski
Sorry Giants fans, you probably wanted this entry to be “every offensive linemen except for LT Andrew Thomas” but let's focus on Glowinski specifically.
Glowinski started five of New York's first eight games of 2023 before losing his starting gig. He played sparingly until Week 18, when he returned to the starting lineup in a win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Schoen will need to seek upgrades at several spots across the o-line, and the fact that Glowinski couldn't stick as a starter is telling.
By cutting the veteran, the Giants will create nearly $6 million in savings and incur a small dead money charge ($1.5 million.) With Evan Neal a candidate to slide inside after struggling at right tackle, Glowinski does not figure into the Giants' plans in 2024.
K Graham Gano
Danny Dimes wasn't the only Giant player to follow up a strong 2022 with a putrid 2023.
Gano, who made over 90% of his kicks in 2022, was a revelation for New York. But the three-year contract extension he signed with the team in September of 2023 couldn't have started out any worse.
A left knee injury ended Gano's season in early November, a season that wasn't going well to begin with. The kicker from Scotland was just 11-for-17 on field goals, the worst FG% of his career.
In 2024, Gano is scheduled to make $7.2 million, which seems exorbitant for the soon-to-be 37 year old. The Giants would only gain a modest $1.3 million in cap savings by parting ways with Gano, but with plenty of needs in other areas of the roster, Schoen might decide to move on and go younger (and therefore cheaper) at the position.
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