Source: https://twitter.com/RVacchianoNYDN
The Giants did not have to cut anyone to sign Barden since they had an open slot on the roster. Prior to this signing, the Giants only had 89 players on the 90-man roster. It's probably just a 1-year deal for the veteran minimum, which for Barden would be $715,000 in base "paragraph 5" salary (since he has 4 accrued years).
As a result of him having at least 4 accrued years, Barden's signing will almost certainly qualify him for the Minimum Salary Benefit (MSB). He''' only count $555,000 against the cap + signing bonus money. The most that he can get and still qualify for the MSB is $65,000. The Giants will probably give him that, making his cap hit $620,000. It would fit into the Giants' top 51 cap numbers, thereby counting against the salary cap since the Top 51 rule is in effect until the start of the regular season.
Barden's cap number will displace the 51st ranked cap number, which belongs to OG Brandon Mosley at $555,146. The $64,854 difference between the two cap numbers ($620,000 - $555,146 = $64,854) will then count be subtracted from whatever cap room that the Giants have left--which I estimated to be $3,526,194.
*****
- In summary, Barden's signing will probably only cost the Giants $64,854 in cap room, and as a result their new estimated number would out to be $3,461,340
- As soon as the official numbers are released from the NFLPA, I'll confirm them here of course when that does transpire shortly, even though I'm 99.9% sure that this is what will happen considering the circumstances regarding the Giants' cap and the free agency market overall.
