The New York Giants are about to enter a pivotal season. Quarterback Daniel Jones is entering a make-or-break third year after general manager Dave Gettleman did his best to stack the roster with talent. New York isn't quite ready for a trip to the playoffs, but that could change as the summer progresses. There will be plenty of veteran free agents hitting the market as teams try to clear up some cap space before the season starts. The Giants should take a good look at the summer free agent market while clearing up some of their own bad contracts.
Here are three potential cut candidates for the Giants.
Elijhaa Penny
This is honestly nothing against Penny. He's a pretty solid fullback, he run blocks well and is surprisingly adequate in the receiving game too. But the Giants have two fullbacks on the roster while most NFL teams don't even have one. Penny is being paid a little over one million dollars, while his backup Cullen Gillaspia is getting paid slightly less. There isn't enough difference between the two to justify keeping Penny when his salary could go towards an in-season signing or an earlier free agent pickup. There's absolutely no reason to keep both on roster, so the Giants should just save some money and cut Penny.
Devontae Booker
The Giants currently have four running backs on their roster. One of them is Saquon Barkley, and the other three are essentially interchangeable. Booker, Corey Clement and Ryquell Armstead are set to battle for the backup running back position. Booker is the highest paid player of the trio at 2.5 million dollars. It doesn't make much sense to pay the former Denver Bronco this, as the drop-off from him to Armstead or Clement is completely negligible. The Giants should carry three running backs because of Barkley's injury history, but none of them should be getting paid upwards of two million dollars. Cutting Booker before the season begins should be a no-brainer for Dave Gettleman.
Ifeadi Odenigbo
The Giants may be thin in some positions, but they certainly aren't thin on the defensive line. The front office has done a fantastic job stockpiling a combination of veterans and high-profile rookies. For some reason, Odenigbo was brought in during this offseason to join the already-solid group that New York had put together.
Odenigbo isn't a bad player at all. He's shown some flashes throughout his career with the Minnesota Vikings, but there just isn't a place for him on this Giants roster. First of all, he's not a great fit for New York's defensive scheme. His best role is a 4-3 interior defensive lineman that can rotate in on passing downs. The Giants will either have to play him as a 3-4 edge defender, which would expose his lack of quickness and burst, or as an interior defensive lineman in a 3-4. Odenigbo is too small to play inside and too big to play outside, so this just doesn't seem like a great match.
Odenigbo is also set to take snaps from younger, higher upside players. His presence will negatively impact players like BJ Hill, Oshane Ximines and Ryan Anderson. The Giants should have more interest in getting those guys on the field as much as possible, so it just doesn't make sense to have Odenigbo on this roster. It would be best to cut him and his 2.5 million dollar salary for another signing.
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