6 Current Contracts the New York Giants Will Have to Address in the Offseason

The New York Giants are in for a significant offseason overhaul following their third straight failure to qualify for the postseason.

Last week’s “rebuild” plan explored some tough decisions that team ownership will need to consider regarding the front office and the coaching staff.

This slideshow will look at some of the existing contracts that must be addressed this offseason. 

Defensive End Mathias Kiwanuka

Al Bello/Getty Images

Mathias Kiwanuka has been the ultimate professional for the Giants ever since he was plucked out of Boston College in the first round of the 2006 draft.

The problem, though, is that Kiwanuka, who landed on injured reserve this year with a knee injury, just hasn’t been effective these last few seasons.

Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Kiwanuka finished this season with his third straight negative overall grade, minus-18.3, which includes a minus-9.4 grade in run defense.

Whether it’s been injuries, a decline in skill or a combination of both, Kiwanuka has struggled to shed single-blocking the last two years despite the effort, making his $7.45 million cap figure he’s due to carry in 2015 a bit steep to carry.

What They Should Do

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a solid player and citizen, but unfortunately, Kiwanuka’s time with the Giants appears to have come to its end.

The Giants will have Robert Ayers Jr., who was a very solid player for them this year, to complement youngsters Damontre Moore and the surprising Kerry Wynn to make up the foundation at defensive end. There’s also a chance that Jason Pierre-Paul is re-signed, and defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins can also play defensive end as needed.

The only thing the Giants lose if they part with Kiwanuka is a good guy who is one of three players remaining from the 2007 Super Bowl championship team.

If the Giants do part ways with Kiwanuka in 2015, the team stands to save $4.825 million on the cap, with a $2.625 million dead-money hit added to their 2015 books.

Center J.D. Walton

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

J.D. Walton, currently the starting center, is due to enter the final year of his two-year deal next season, a season in which he will have a $3.125 million cap figure.

The presumption right now is that the Giants will be moving rookie Weston Richburg to center, his natural position. The question now becomes what to do with Walton, who can also play guard.

Do the Giants go with a configuration that, from left to right, consists of Will Beatty, Walton at left guard, Richburg at center, Geoff Schwartz at right guard and Justin Pugh at right tackle?

That could be one way to go if the Giants decide to draft a prospective starter and break the kid in as a rookie, though it is probably not the ideal way if they are looking for a quick fix.

According to ESPN Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., (h/t Jordan Raanan of NJ.com) the offensive tackle class about to enter the 2015 draft has underwhelmed.

"

The offensive linemen as a whole this year, some of these guys didn't play as well as I would have thought they would. [Cedric] Ogbuehi from A&M was one I thought would be in the Top 5 and he's at No. 11 [on my Big Board] now. [Iowa's Brandon] Scherff's at 7 out of Iowa. Ogbuehi is at 11. [Stanford's] Andrus Peat is at 12. They are the tackles. [LSU's] La'El Collins is at 18.

"

That’s not a very promising review, though it remains to be seen what underclassmen declare for the draft.

Getting back to Walton, if the Giants decide to move on from him, they will recognize a $2.5 million cap savings and be on the hook for just $625,000 in dead money.  

What They Should Do

Although the Giants have done a slightly better job in drafting young, quality offensive linemen the last two years, this team has a long way to go before it rebuilds its depth into a quality squad.

John Jerry, a decent pass-blocker but whose Pro Football Focus (subscription required) run-blocking grade of minus-15.4 is ranked 44th out of 45th among guards that have taken at least 75 percent of their team’s offensive snaps this season, needs to  be removed from the starting lineup moving forward.

Per PFF, Walton hasn’t played much at guard during his NFL career so it’s unclear as to whether he would actually benefit from a move to guard.

The ideal way to go on the starting offensive line is to move Pugh inside to left guard, and sign a to-be-determined veteran free agent to play right tackle.

Walton could be kept for depth at center and guard, though not at his $2.25 million base salary, as he would almost certainly have to take a pay cut in the final year of his contract to remain with the Giants.

Of course, that could all hinge on what Eric Herman, a 2013 seventh-round draft pick who has spent most of his first two seasons on the practice squad, shows any growth in these remaining weeks at both the center and guard positions.

Walton will probably be kept for depth, regardless, especially given that two other Giants draft picks, James Brewer and Brandon Mosley, haven’t developed as the team probably anticipated.

Running Back Peyton Hillis

David Richard/Associated Press

Peyton Hillis will carry what Over the Cap reports is a $945,000 cap figure in 2015—not a large amount compared to some of the other contracts that management will need to review, but still a deal that needs to be addressed.

It’s always great to see a player given a second chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the league. However, two concussions in as many seasons doesn’t bode well for that player.

If the Giants do decide to terminate Hillis’ contract, they can save 100 percent of his 2015 cap figure, as he did not have a signing bonus when he signed the two-year deal last winter.

The cap figure, by the way, includes a $870,000 base salary, a $50,000 roster bonus if he’s on the team as of the fifth day of the 2015 league year (five days after the start of free agency), and a $25,000 workout bonus.

Moving forward, the Giants should be set with Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams as their top two running backs. Michael Cox, who saw his season end early thanks to a broken leg, will probably get a chance to compete for the third spot on the depth chart.

To replace the depth, the Giants could bring back Chris Ogbonnaya and add another street/rookie free agent to join the competition that should include Michael Cox (currently on injured reserve) to compete for roster spots.  

What They Should Do

Hillis gave it his all while he was with the Giants and certainly humbled himself after reportedly displaying what Mike Silver, in an article for Yahoo! Sports, reported was some erratic, diva-like behavior in 2011 while a member of the Cleveland Browns.

While the Giants won’t save a large chunk of cap space if they terminate Hillis’ contract, this is one of those decisions that will fall under doing what is best for the player’s long-term health, which is why the odds of Hillis being part of the Giants in 2015 are not very good.

Cornerback Prince Amukamara

LM Otero/Associated Press

The Giants decided to pick up the option on Prince Amukamara’s rookie deal. Barring a renegotiation—which is sure to be coming—Amukamara will cost the Giants $6.898 million on the 2015 cap, the seventh-highest cap figure on the team, according to Over the Cap.

For as good as Amukamara was prior to his season-ending biceps injury, there’s almost no chance the Giants will pay him that kind of money in a single season—money that, by the way, would be all base salary.

What They Should Do

Amukamara, a first-round pick in 2011, is all but guaranteed to become another draft pick from the disappointing 2008-2012 classes to get a second contract from the Giants, joining Will Beatty, who was the first.  

Amukamara's new deal could end up covering four years and average somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million per season. The new deal will also probably have performance incentives such as Pro Bowl and a set number of interceptions built in to help push the value up.

Quarterback Eli Manning

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Not surprisingly, quarterback Eli Manning is due to have the highest cap figure on the team in 2016.

Per Over the Cap, Manning will count for $19.75 million, or approximately 14.1 percent of a $140 million salary cap.  

Before discussing what the Giants should do with Manning, let’s go back to an article written last winter suggesting why it would have been wise for the Giants to not extend Manning’s contract in 2014.

One of the key points made was that it made sense to see how Manning took to the West Coast offensive system that was highly anticipated with the hiring of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.

So what is the verdict on Manning in that regard? 

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Manning is the 15th-best quarterback overall among those who have taken at least 75 percent of their team’s snaps on offense.

Looking more closely at Manning’s rank in several key areas among those top 22 quarterbacks with 75 percent or more of their team’s stars, Manning falls within the top 10 in just four categories.

Those include passing yards (3,590, 10th), completed passes (326, tied for 9th with Philip Rivers), pass attempts (516, tied for 8th with his brother) and touchdowns (26, tied for 10th with Jay Cutler).

Has Manning improved in his first year in the new system? The answer is yes, even though the team’s record doesn’t reflect it.

Still, there’s room to grow, and the addition of Odell Beckham Jr. can only help one dream of improved numbers for Manning and the Giants offense in 2015 and beyond.

What They Should Do

The Giants should absolutely extend Manning’s contract at least another three years, perhaps offering him a deal somewhere in the neighborhood of what Detroit gave Matthew Stafford (three years, $53 million with $41.5 million guaranteed, per Spotrac).

Stafford’s deal comes to an average of $17.666 million per year, a very reasonable number for a starting quarterback and not a number that should break the Giants’ bank, especially in 2015 if they give Manning a lower base salary, which is generally the practice in the first year of a new mega-money contract. 

More importantly, if head coach Tom Coughlin returns next season—per Steve Serby of the New York Post, there is a “99.9 percent chance” of that happening—the two men who have won two Super Bowls together can continue their successful collaboration.

Should Coughlin retire after the 2015 season, Manning can help a new coach with a transition (especially if that new coach turns out to be McAdoo).

By the third year of Manning’s proposed extension, assuming the team has its next quarterback on board, the Giants can let him play out his contract—he’ll be 36 by then—or let him go if his successor is ready for full-time duty.

Linebacker Jon Beason

USA TODAY Sports

When healthy—and he hasn’t had much luck in that category since the 2011 season—Jon Beason is a very good run-stopping linebacker who is also a leader on that field.

The problem is he has had trouble staying healthy, and he will turn 30 in January, which, while not ancient, is a dangerous threshold to cross for a player that, per Over the Cap, will have the fifth-highest salary cap figure on the team ($7.366 million) in 2015.

While Beason, who had surgery to fix his ailing toe in November, should make a complete recovery from that ailment, the Giants might just be a little squeamish to tie up big bucks in him moving forward. 

However, Beason’s contract was structured in such a way to protect the Giants. Per Spotrac, Beason was to have counted for $3,141,666 against the 2014 salary cap.

Within that cap figure, he was to receive up to $750,000 in roster bonuses ($46,875 per game), presumably, for each game he was active. 

As Beason was only active for four games this season, the Giants are due to receive an estimated $562,500 cap credit on their cap, money that was otherwise allocated toward his per-game roster bonus. That money should carry over to 2015 in the form of a credit.

Now let’s look at 2015, in particular, two key contract notes as pointed out by Over the Cap.

First, $900,000 of Beason’s base salary $3.6 million is guaranteed. The Giants, under general manager Jerry Reese, have historically been reluctant to part with players who have any guaranteed money in their base salary for that season.

Second, Beason is due a $1 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the new league year (five days after the start of free agency). If that bonus is paid out, it is hard to imagine that he won’t be on the team’s 2015 roster, barring injury.

In essence, thanks to the cap credit the Giants are projected to receive due to Beason landing on IR, they’re only devoting $437,500 of “new money” toward Beason’s roster bonus, if they choose to pay it.

If Beason ends up on injured reserve in 2015, the Giants have a similar clause in his contract regarding a per-game roster bonus, which Spotrac reports is the same as what he received in 2014.

What They Should Do

While some might think that the Giants should move on from Beason, remember that Mark Herzlich, Jacquian Williams and Spencer Paysinger are all set to be unrestricted free agents after this season.

Of those three pending free agents, Herzlich could be the only one they re-sign, as Williams’ continued issues with a concussion are concerning and Paysinger’s playing time seems to have been drastically reduced, suggesting that perhaps he’s fading from the future plans.

Assuming Herzlich is re-signed, is he a better option than Beason or even a potential draft pick if one is made in the spring?

What about moving Devon Kennard to the middle? That could be in the long-term plans, but if it is, it’s probably at least another year away as Kennard will probably stay on the outside next year.

With that all said, it would be surprising if Beason is not kept in 2015. However, what about that $7.2 million cap number?

Injury history or not, the Giants shouldn’t restructure Beason’s contract—to do so means adding more money, thereby minimizing any potential cap savings if they choose to cut him after the 2015 season.

They could ask him to take a pay cut on his base salary and convert some of that money into incentives, but his deal seems to have plenty of incentives as it is.

The most likely scenario with Beason’s contract is they leave the 2015 cap figure as is, assuming he is not expected to have any lingering effects from his toe injury that should slow him down in 2015.

Player salary information via Over the Cap, unless otherwise noted.  

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and The Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.