New York Giants: Five possible salary cap casualties

Honorable Mention 2: Nate Solder, LT – Solder hasn’t quite been a bust since signing a four-year, $62M contract before the 2018 season. He has been adequate at best. In a salary cap league adequate isn’t worth an average of $15.5M per season. The Giants would probably like to rid themselves of Solder, but it would cost them too much. His dead cap hit is $13M this year, and $6.5M in 2021. That’s why Solder probably avoids the ax.

Honorable Mention 1: Evan Engram, TE – Too big for a defensive back to cover and too fast for a linebacker, Engram is a unique weapon. The problem is, to be effective, a weapon has to be available. The tight end has only played in 34 of 48 or 70.8 percent of possible games. He’s in the last season of his rookie contract. If he does get released the G-Men are on the hook for $3.41M in dead space. It’s more likely he gets traded rather than cut.

5. Spencer Pulley, C

Pulley has been quite useful in his tenure with Big Blue. In the last two preseasons, he battled for the starting center position in camp with Jon Halapio and lost. A valuable backup Pulley has been reliable and used often because Halapio is injured so much.

Unfortunately, Pulley may be too high priced to remain in New York. The fourth-year pro carries a cap hit of $2.75M for 2020 and 2021. That’s too much money for a backup lineman and those funds are better spent elsewhere. One other reason he could be expendable is that he carries no dead cap hit. Ultimately, Pulley’s status with the New York Giants may depend on whether or not Halapio can return from his torn Achilles.