Updated list of 2013 cap numbers for all Giants players as well as Dead money amount for 2013

Here are the cap numbers for the players on the 53-man roster, Injured Reserve (13), & the Practice Squad (8) reflecting the 3 roster moves that were made yesterday. All figures are courtesy of the Giants' salary cap page on OverTheCap.com, with 3 calculated by me (Cooper Taylor, Eric Herman, & Travis Howard):

*Note(s):
1 - Players whose cap numbers are shaded in gray have cap numbers that are equal to their salaries.

2 - As of last night, I calculated the Giants to be $24,946 under the cap (based on the NFLPA's public salary cap figures) as a result of the 3 roster moves they made yesterday.

3 - Five of the players who are the 53-man roster now have been promoted from the Giants' Practice Squad: Charles James, Stephen Goodin, Marcus Dowtin, Julian Taley, & Eric Herman.

4 - Three of the players who are the 53-man roster now have been signed as Free Agents during the season: John Conner, Peyton Hillis, & Dallas Reynolds.

5 - Four players that I know of currently on the Giants' 53-man roster now have salary splits in their contracts this season: Terrell Thomas, Markus Kuhn, Ryan Nassib, & Michael Cox.



Here are the updated cap numbers for the players on the 53-man roster:

The positional breakdown for these 53 players is as follows:

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Here are the updated cap numbers for the 13 players on Injured Reserve:

*Note(s):
1 - Players whose cap numbers are shaded in gray have cap numbers that are equal to their salaries.
2 - Two players on Injured Reserve now were signed as Free Agents during the season: Brandon Jacobs & Da'Rel Scott

• in Scott's case, he was on the 53-man roster to start the season, was waived, re-signed to 53-man roster again, then waived/injured, & then placed on Injured Reserve).

3 - Three players on Injured Reserve now have salary splits in their contracts this season: Shaun Rogers, Brandon Jacobs, & Cooper Taylor.

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Here are the updated cap numbers for the players on the 8-man Practice Squad:

*Note(s):
1 - players whose cap numbers are shaded in gray have cap numbers that are equal to their salaries; as of now, all of the players presently on the Practice Squad fall into this category.

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The Giants have 26 out of 74 players on the team now (counting the players on the 53-man roster, the 13 players Injured Reserve, & the players on the 8-man Practice Squad) who currently have salaries equivalent to their cap numbers (roughly 35%). Out of these 26 players, 14 are on the 53-man roster, 4 are on Injured Reserve, & 8 are on the Practice Squad (all 8 on the Practice Squad have cap numbers equal to their salaries). The aforementioned figures are as follows:

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The Giants' Dead Money total for 2013 has now been adjusted to be $9,112,510 (this should be reflected soon on the Giants' team salary cap page on OverTheCap.com). Eric Herman's Practice Squad cap number/salary up until yesterday of $96,000 has been added to that amount. 40 players are listed below for the Giants' Dead Money total this season. Their breakdown is as follows:

• 31 of them are off the team completely
• 6 are currently on the 53-man roster
• 2 are currently on the Practice Squad
• 1 is on Injured Reserve

The Dead Money amounts for all 40 of these players, as well as their status with the team, are as follows:

I'll wait until next week, when the season is over, to make an entry on what the Giants' final cap numbers and Dead Money amount for the 2013 season will turn out being. If I had to say now though if I think the figures listed above will turn out to be the last updates of the season for cap numbers and dead money amounts, then I'd say that they would.

When is the earliest that the Giants can move away from the Will Beatty contract?

I was asked this question on BigBlueInteractive.com, and here is my reply: 

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Let's look at Beatty's contract first (who I mockingly have referred to this season as Will "Beat Me"):

Source: Will Beatty's salary cap page courtesy of OverTheCap.com

The Giants would actually lose cap space if they released Beatty in standard fashion next year; however, if they make him a June 1st cut in the 2015 off-season, then that would be the earliest that they would be able to divest themselves of him, and gain cap space instead of losing it, which is what occurs when cutting players early on after they've signed a new contract. In such a scenario, the Giants would gain $3,050,000 in cap room in 2015, spreading out Dead money on the books in two year: $2,500,000 in 2014, & $5,000,000 in 2015.

The scenario outlined above would be the first and earliest exit strategy away from Beatty, and would only occur if Beatty is an absolute wreck and waste of space cap-wise and roster-wise. He would basically have to turn into the Left Tackle version of Rick Ankiel (Ankiel was a baseball pitcher who suddenly began throwing wild pitches all over the place and never regained his previous form).

While a critic of Beatty's, I acknowledge that he isn't a complete waste of a roster spot---yet. I'd give him the next two years, and see what return the Giants could get on their investment. If he completely tanks, then you use the strategy above. If he's bad as opposed to embarrassingly bad, and you have a replacement on roster (a first round pick in 2014 in this scenario), then I'd keep him through 2015 after he's had a chance to compete for his job one last time.

A more reasonable approach would be to cut him after the 2015 season. As a normal cut that year, the Giants would stand to gain $4,175,000 in cap room for 2016 with $5 million remaining on the cap accounting books as Dead Money in one shot through the 2016 season.

Another way to do it would be to cut him after the 2015 season, not as a normal cut, but as a post-June 1st cut. In that scenario, the Giants would gain $6,675,000 in cap room for the 2016 season, leaving Dead Money to be spread out over the next two years, instead of just one, in the amounts of $2.5 million in 2016 & another $2.5 million in 2017.

Here's the bottom line: you don't reinforce a mistake by not seizing the opportunity to grab a quality left Tackle in the first round of the 2014 draft approximately 4 and a half months from now. You're not married to Beatty in a cap sense for any longer than a year at minimum (probably two). If the tackle is there, and he is the best player available that fits a need, then you take him. Let Beatty compete, and prove his worth. If he fails, then you can get rid of him after the 2014 or 2015 seasons.

Keep in mind that the Giants can also use Pugh's versatility on the OL, just as Diehl's was used throughout his career (especially in his earlier years). You could take advantage of Pugh's versatility, and move him to Guard for a year, or longer (keep in mind Pugh played Left Tackle throughout most of his collegiate career at Syracuse), in case you need to get by for a season with the draft pick and Beatty playing opposite each other at the two Tackle positions. Of course, it would be better to leave Pugh alone at RT, but I'm throwing that option out there since the Giants did when they drafted him. Hopefully Pugh stays right where he is.

Beatty's going to be here on the roster for at least another year--probably two--but this does not mean that you use his cap hit as a crux to handing him a job that he never really earned in the first place due to the lack of competition that he had at Left Tackle from within the roster, the high price of other starting Left Tackles in Free Agency in 2012, and the Giants' overall woes elsewhere on their OL at the conclusion of the 2012 season. That's basically the whole "you are on this council, but we do not grant you the rank of master" argument that Star Wars geeks are familiar with regarding young emo Anakin Skywalker.

Beatty is on this roster, but it doesn't mean he has to be handed a starting job just because of of his high cap number. This is especially dangerous since Beatty protects Eli's blind side. This is an issue that will be worth keeping an eye on going forward, especially if the Giants actually do go ahead and draft a Left Tackle (or even a Right Tackle in case Pugh is moved to OLT) in the first or second round of the upcoming draft in May of 2014.