New York Giants 2021 free agency outlook

The New York Giants came pretty close to making the playoffs this season, despite a 6-10 record. Such is the state of the NFC East. But they didn’t, and now the team has some time to start thinking about free agent decisions ahead of the new league year. The team has a long list of players ticketed for free agency this year, but not a lot of cap room to work with.

Lost revenue due to COVID-19 will impact every team, but with so many free agents the likely drop in the league wide salary cap number could make things difficult. The 2020 number was around $198 million, while the 2021 number could drop to $176 to $180 million, according to Over The Cap, but is subject to change.

Franchise/Transition Tag possibilities

The most notable name on the list is defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Acquired via trade with the Jets during the 2019 season, the Giants used the franchise tag to hang onto him in 2020, a one-year deal worth more than $16 million. He had 11.5 sacks this season, a career high. It would be good for the Giants to hang onto Williams, but he’ll command a hefty sum in free agency. It would still be more cap friendly for the team to re-sign him to a market-value deal than to tag him a second time.

Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, a second-round pick from 2017, is scheduled for free agency as well. He had 3.5 sacks in each of his last two seasons, but his real value is as the anchor on the defensive line. It might be difficult for the Giants to hang onto both Williams and Tomlinson.

Salary cap

Estimated 2021 cap space: ($3,373,297)

2021 transactions

Free agent signings

TBD

Free agent departures

TBD

Trades

TBD

Notable unrestricted free agents

* Denotes Restricted Free Agent (RFA)