No one yet knows just how high the NFL's salary cap will climb for the 2015 season. Most estimates peg it anywhere from $138 to $142 million. Wherever it lands will have a dramatic impact on teams' ability to spend in free agency.
The New York Giants are not expected to have a ton of salary cap room, so any extra dollars they can get from an increased cap would be welcomed. New York has several big decisions to make when it comes to free agency. Will they re-sign or franchise Jason Pierre-Paul? Will they extend Eli Manning? How many of their 19 unrestricted free agents will they bring back? Every decision is important.
"If the cap lands on the high side at $142 million - and that's a big 'if' - they should, from what I can tell, end up with about $18 million in space before any of their yet-unknown moves..." Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News wrote. "..which isn't a lot, especially since they'll probably need $6 million of that for draft picks (remember, they're picking high this year at No. 9) and they have those 19 UFAs to either re-sign or replace (a few of them are fairly significant players). It certainly isn't enough for them to slap what could be a $15 million franchise tag on Jason Pierre-Paul, for example, without making some other moves."
JPP and starting safety Antrel Rolle are just two of the key contributors who may be lost this offseason due to cap concerns. Giants fans who were hoping for a quick offseason fix to all of the team's woes will surely be disappointed. As Vacchiano points out, New York isn't gearing up for much of a spending spree. Instead, the G-Men will likely look to the NFL draft to replace some of their lost talent.
