5 Worst Giants Contracts to Overcome This Offseason

2. Darren Waller - Tight End

When Joe Schoen traded for Darren Waller, adding a weapon for Daniel Jones made sense, however, Waller was a questionable move. Given the injury history of Waller and the production the team had gotten out of Daniel Bellinger and Lawrence Cager, the move was questionable.

2024 will be the start of the three-year extension that Waller signed with the Raiders meaning there will be cap penalties over the next few years. In 2024, he'll account for 6% of the team's salaries with a $14 million cap hit. The team could move on from Waller before this season but they would be creating $8 Million in dead cap spending.

This season saw Waller play 12 games, the most he's played since 2020 while his production was well below his pre-season expectations. At this point in Waller's career, you have to assume that he will get injured mid-season again, leaving the Giants without one of their better weapons. The team will need a productive season out of Waller as he has the fourth-highest cap hit on the team while the offense needs weapons.

1. Daniel Jones - Quarterback

The plan for Joe Schoen was to seemingly let Daniel Jones play out his rookie deal and then move on to the former regime's top pick but a great 2022 forced the team's hand in bringing Jones back. Now after a brutal 2023 where Jones tore his ACL and continued to deal with a lingering neck issue, the team will have his 47 million dollar cap hit on the books for at least one more season.

The massive cap hit of Jones will account for 20% of the team's salary in 2024, limiting what Joe Schoen can do to make the roster better. The Giants won't be able to release Jones to save cap space either as releasing him would cost the team an additional $21 million cap hit.

Whether ownership vouched to have Jones back or Joe Schoen made the decision, someone within the organization certainly made a mistake. The Giants would have been better suited last offseason giving Saquon Barkley an extension and using the franchise tag on Jones to use as leverage in negotiating an extension.

Following this season, the Giants can get out of the last two years of Jones' deal. However, it won't be cheap. Cutting Jones following this season would cost the Giants a $22 million cap hit in 2025. The extension of Daniel Jones will hamstring the team's ability to fully build this roster to contender status for years to come.

More Giants news: