Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Projected 53-man roster on opening night - ROUND 3

It's that time of the month again---projected 53-man roster time! Here were my first two attempts at doing this at the end of May, and the end of June:



Now here is my latest attempt at predicting the roster on opening night in Dallas on Sunday night, September 8th, 2013:

Note:
My only deviation this time from last is that I have Eric Herman making the team over Jim Cordle on the OL, and Shaun Rogers getting cut later on--if necessary--to make room for the return of Markus Kuhn from the PUP List after week 6 rather than Mike Patterson who sounds like he is tearing it up at training camp.































*****



Here is the position-by-position breakdown:

Right now the Giants have 5 players on the PUP list. They are Henry Hynoski, Markus Kuhn, JPP, Terrell Thomas, & Chris Snee. My guess is that Snee and Thomas come off the PUP list at some point soon during camp, leaving Hynoski, JPP, and  Kuhn still on it come the start of the regular season.



Of course, the longer a player remains on the PUP list during training camp, the more likely he is to start the regular season there--assuming of course he is slated to be on the 53-man roster to start the regular season in September. The more that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised to see T2 start the year on the PUP list now. Let's wait and see.




This is just my read of the situation, but in my humble opinion, the Giants do a great job of keeping injuries in-house. The noise we hear now about Hynoski being ready for Day 1 seems fishy to me. This is just a guess on my part, but I think they're going to be extra careful with him--as the Giants historically err on the side of caution when it comes to these kinds of injury situations. I think that they'll be careful with Kuhn, Hynoski, and especially their crown jewel: Mr. Pierre-Paul. I think by Game 7 that JPP and Hyno will be raring to go, with Kuhn being the only one of the three who seems to be struggling to come back that early (he tore his knee up--an AVL and MCL I think--on November 11th, 2012 in Cincinnati).

Just like the last time that I did this, I've got the Giants cutting the 3 players -- highlighted in orange above (Ramses Barden, Adrian Tracy, and Mike Patterson) -- once the 3 guys I've got projected to be on the PUP List at the start of the season mentioned below come off it, sometime between weeks 7 & 10.

I still think that a veteran 3rd RB will be added to the roster at the expense of 4th QB Curtis Painter, probably later on in camp when better veteran RBs will shake loose from teams. Da'Rel Scott is vulnerable in my opinion in this regard.

I'm going to try my hand at this again about 2 weeks from tonight in mid-August (August 15th), and then again approximately another 2 weeks after that in late-August (August 30th) for fun. I was only going to do it one more time at the end of August, but I figured that it'd be worth it to do it once more between now and then, hence my mid-August addition. It's all in fun anyway, so I figure "why not"? Besides, all my previous other shots at this were really almost meaningless.

My attempts at predicting this final 53-man roster in the middle and latter parts of August will have some meat behind them because we'll have heard rumors of who is playing well, and we'll know who isn't. We'll also be able to factor injuries into the situation as well, not to mention suspensions--of which the Giants are dealing with 2: one for S Will Hill, and the second for WR Brandon Collins. Hill has a solid chance to be on the team's 53-man roster after week 4, while Collins seems destined for the Practice Squad.

I think Hill will make the final 53-man roster, and be on the team again come week 5 after serving the his 4 game suspension. I think that the Giants will cut Tyler Sash in my scenario in order to keep exploring the options that Hill brings to the team in both the short-term as well as the long-term. It should be noted that players with less than 4 years worth of experience, like Tyler Sash, who are on the opening day 53-man roster of teams DON'T have guaranteed contracts for the year.

This means if he is cut after say week 4, that he'll only receive 4 weeks of his base salary pay--which in his case is $555,000, making each of his 17 weekly game checks worth approximately $32,647. Sash would only get 4 of these if he is cut after week 4 to make room for Will Hill. Shaun Rogers on the other hand would receive his entire base salary if he is released after week 1 after making the 53-man roster since he has over 4 years worth of experience.

This is why when roster moves are made in-season, that mostly younger players are involved, as Jason Fitzgerald from overthecap.com pointed out to me. On the flip side of the coin, Will Hill would only receive 13/17ths of his $480,000 base salary this year if he returns to the team after his 4-game suspension. Each check of his is supposed to be for approximately $28,235. If he misses 4 of them, then he'll only get $367,059 for the year, costing him about $112,941 in pay--a pretty costly thing to do for smoking weed to relive some stress.

However any of this turns out, it'll bear watching just to see how the finances & cap friendliness impact the Giants' decision making process. Keep in mind that decisions are often made for teams as the result of injuries that occur. It is for this reason that I wouldn't be surprised to see a rookie like CB Charles James or S Alonzo Tweedy make the team in place of Thomas and Hill to start the year if they show enough during camp, and if the door is open long enough for them to be able to walk through it before it closes.

In closing here is my prediction for the Practice Squad to start the year as well as the Practice Squad Eligibility rules:

P.S. Like i said before, I think Brandon Collins will be an ideal addition to the Practice Squad right after his suspension is over; Jake Muasau seems like a guy who is eminently cutable.






























Sunday, July 28, 2013

Here are the 2013 Cap numbers for all players currently on the Giants' 90-man roster.

Here is the list of the Top 51 cap numbers that actually count on the salary cap at the moment:

Source: 2013 Cap numbers for NY Giants - as per Jason Fitzgerald of overthecap.com







  • As can be seen, Victor Cruz's cap number is ranked 12th (it was ranked 11th before his new contract was agreed to).
  • First round pick Justin Pugh's cap number for 2013 ($1,517,436) ranks him 19th on the team.
    • Second round pick Johnathan Hankins ranks 28th on the team's top 51 list of cap numbers with a cap number of $732,852.
  • Steve Weatherford's contract would be a good one for the Giants to try and restructure if they need any extra room.
  • Weatherford currently ranks 13th cap-wise on the team; he has 4 years, including 2013, left on his deal, so a restructure wouldn't be such a bad idea.
  • The Giants could gain as much as an additional $738,750 in extra cap room if they and Weatherford came to an agreement to restructure his deal.
  • In exchange for as much $985,000 in upfront bonus money, the Giants would gain $738,750 more in cap room as indicated previously.
  • The trade-off would be that Weatherford's cap number would go up an extra $246,250 in each of the remaining 3 years of his deal after 2013 (his contract expires after the 2016 season).
  • It'll be interesting to see what happens.
  • The Giants' top 2 drafted players whose names appear in black bold & italicized letters in this section--Justin Pugh & Johnathan Hankins--count towards the salary cap while the Top 51 rule is in effect, up until September 5th.



*****



Here are the players who don't currently count against the salary cap on account of the Top 51 Rule being in effect. Once it ceases though, some of these players (the ones who make the final 53-man roster) will count against the team's salary cap:

NOTE:
The only player on the list below whose 2013 cap number I'm not 100% sure about is Ryan D'Imperio. I believe I have his cap number right since to my knowledge he has only 1 year of accrued experience, but on the off chance I'm wrong I'll adjust this figure.






Click on the following link below by Jason Fitzgerald from overthecap.com to see the list of not only most of these players' 2013 cap numbers, but their overall contractual breakdowns as well:

  • Ryan Nassib's deal ranks him 59th on the club, but he will eventually count on the team's cap after September 5th, when the Top 51 rules ends and the team's final 53-man roster has been determined.
  • All 5 drafted players whose names appear in black bold & italicized letters in this section were drafted.
    • They are Damontre' Moore, Ryan Nassib, Cooper Taylor, Eric Herman & Michael Cox.
  • All the players whose names appear in light blue are undrafted rookie free agents (UDFAs); they are as follows:
    • TE, Chase Clement - ranked 73rd with a cap number of $405,833.
    • CB, Charles James - ranked in a 17-way tie for 74th-90th with a cap number of $405,000.
    • CB, Junior Mertile - ranked in a 17-way tie for 74th-90th with a cap number of $405,000.
    • LB, Etienne Sabino - ranked in a 17-way tie for 74th-90th with a cap number of $405,000.
    • S, Alonzo Tweedy - ranked in a 17-way tie for 74th-90th with a cap number of $405,000.
  • Keep in mind that if players get hurt that salary splits will factor into the equation.
  • Here is how the breakdown would occur:

The Giants will have a different cap number either tomorrow or Tuesday

The NFLPA doesn't automatically makes changes to reflect the accounting of the financial moves that have come about as the result of the Pugh signing, the Nassib signing, and the release of Kicker David Buehler & subsequent signing of Fullback Ryan D'Imperio, especially if they occur towards the end of the week (Thursday night). The changes should be reflected though on the NFLPA's Top 51 League Cap Report website either tomorrow, or on Tuesday, as indicated above.

At the moment, the Giants are officially $3,657,682 under the salary cap. As a result of the moves mentioned above, by either tomorrow or Tuesday--and pending any other moves between that time of course--the Giants should be $2,770,246 under the salary cap.



  • The Pugh signing resulted in a cap decrease of $961,436.
  • This was due to salary cap displacement between his 2013 cap number--which ranks 19th on the team--and that of the 51st ranked player on the Giants' top 51 list of cap numbers.
  • That player was Spencer Paysinger, whose salary was $556,000.
  • The difference between Pugh's 2013 cap number of $1,517,436 and Paysinger's 51st ranked cap number of $556,000 for 2013 is $961,436.

  • Nassib didn't factor into any of this because his 2013 cap number of $518,400 ranks 59th on the club, placing him outside out the team's Top 51 list of cap numbers for 2013.
  • This will change though once the Top 51 Rule ceases on September 5th, as Nassib is guaranteed a roster spot save for an act of God.

  • An extra $74,000 in cap space was created as the result of the release of Kicker David Buehler, and the subsequent signing of Fullback Ryan D'Imperio on Friday.
  • Buehler's 2013 cap number of $630,000 ranked him in a 3-way tie for the 31st highest cap number on the roster (tied with Curtis Painter & Trumaine McBride).
  • D'Imperio's cap number of $480,000 currently ranks him in an 8-way tie for 62nd on the team.
  • Since it ranks him outside of the team's Top 51 list of cap numbers for 2013, he doesn't count against the cap now.
  • The displacement of the 51st salary of $556,000 did though, resulting in a differential of $74,000 ($630,000 - $556,000 = $74,000).

  • When you subtract $961,436 from $3,657,682 you get a total of $2,696,246.
  • To this adjusted cap number of $2,696,246 you then add $74,000.
  • The result is the new adjusted cap number of $2,770,246.



As a result of these changes, the Giants should be $2,770,246 under the cap effective either tomorrow or Tuesday.

The Giants have reached an injury settlement with Cornerback Antonio Dennard, as per Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News

Cornerback Antonio Dennard was the 91st contract on the Giants' 90-man roster according to the NFLPA's Leaguewide Top 51 Cap Report (see link HERE). He was on the Reserve/Injured List, and had a salary of $405,000. He was waived on Thursday, May 16th along with TE Michael Palmer, who is now in camp with Seattle. 

Here is a link to an article by Dan Benton dating back to May 18th from sportsmedia101.com:
Michael Palmer & Antonio Dennard Clear Waivers; New York Giants Place Duo on Reserve/Injured List



Here is a tweet by Ralph Vacchiano about Dennard's injury settlement:






















If I'm understanding this correctly, the start of the proration of Dennard's $405,000 salary (the absolute lowest in the NFL) dates back to the day that he was added to the roster, on January 15th of this year, & not the start of the 2013 league year on March 12th. The day of his release--May 16th--is when the proration ends. I'm more sure about the end date of the proration than I am about the start date though.

•Assuming I have the correct dates, then Dennard spent 121 days on the roster (the amount of days between January 15th and May 16th).
•I'm not sure though if the start date is March 12th--the start of the 2013 league year--or the day that Dennard was signed to the roster.
•That day happened to be January 15th (see HERE).

•If I did the math correctly (121 days out of 365), then the Giants the injury settlement is for $134,260.
•This amount would then count on the Giants' cap for 2013.
•Let me reiterate that I'm not sure if I understand this correctly, but right now this is my best guess; I'll check with a couple of people who would know better, and then correct myself later. 

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Justin Pugh's contractual breakdown:










•Pugh got a signing bonus of $4,449,744 when he signed on Thursday.
•His base salary for the 2013 through 2016 seasons totals $3,510,384.
•That's a total of $7,960,128 over 4 years, NOT including the non-guaranteed portion of his 2016 salary, which takes the form of a roster bonus.

•If Pugh is on the 53-man roster in 2016, on either the 2nd or 3rd day after rosters are set, then he receives his roster bonus of $385,770.
•If he gets his roster bonus for making the team in 2016, then the total of the contract rises to $8,345,898 for 4 years, which it should pending Pugh stinking up the joint or being injured.

*****




I asked Jason Fitzgerald the following question on Twitter from my Giants Salary Cap twitter feed:






  • As can be seen above, the small roster bonus Pugh received in year 4 in 2016 is for $385,770.
  • His 2013 cap number---as stated here a million times before---is $1,517,436.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Giants released Kicker David Buehler and signed Fullback Ryan D'Imperio to the roster today

This means that the Kicking job belongs to Josh Brown, the other kicker on the roster. Buehler's $630,000 cap number happened to fit into the Giants' Top 51 cap numbers, ranking him in a tie for 31st-33rd on the team's cap list, so this move gives the Giants a little more cap room on account of the player who replaced him costing less.

Fullback Ryan D'Imperio has one accrued season's worth of NFL experience according to what I read from the following two articles:
If I am correct D'Imperio's experience, then he'll be on the books now as having a $480,000 salary and cap number. I am almost certain that he did not receive a bonus since he's likely just camp fodder, and his practice squad eligibility looks used up. His $480,000 cap number does not fall into the Giants' top 51 cap numbers. I'll wait for a confirmation later today or early next week on this, but I'm pretty sure that this is the correct number for D'Imperio.

According to my estimation, as a result of salary cap displacement, the Giants have gained another $74,000 in cap room as a result of this move. I got this figure by subtracting the resultant 51st ranked cap number in this instance of $556,000 (belonging to Spencer Paysinger) from Buehler's cap number of $630,000.

This additional $74,000 probably won't be reflected on the NFLPA's records and Top 51 League Cap Report website until Monday or Tuesday of next week since we're on the eve of the weekend (the same applies to the Pugh & Nassib contracts from yesterday). If something changes later today however, then I'll note it here of course.

Pending any other moves between today and early next week, I'd estimate the Giants to officially be $2,770,246 under the cap by Monday, July 29th or Tuesday, July 30th.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Did Pugh and Nassib win their contractual battles?

This is an interesting question. First let's start off with Pugh.

It will be interesting to see if Justin Pugh, the 19th overall pick, got a 4th guaranteed year. Picks 14 through 21 in the first round all got first guaranteed 4th years. I wonder if Pugh got the same, or if the Giants won out. My bet is on the Giants. As soon as details become available I'll post them. In the meanwhile, feel free to check out these two articles on the subject:


The issue with Ryan Nassib (the 110th overall pick in the draft), on the other had was salary splits. The 4th round of the draft is the round in which the battle ground for these salary splits took place. Interestingly, Nassib was the 5th to last player to sign his contract this year. the four players besides him who remained, and still remain unsigned are the 4 of the first 10 picks picked in the first round of this year's draft (click HERE to see who they are).

Nassib's agent probably argued hard to only have Nassib's salary split in case of injury for one year (2013 only), whereas the Giants argued for his salary to split for two years (2013 and 2014). My bet, once again, is on the Giants in this instance. Here's an excellent article on the subject from overthecap.com by Jason Fitzgerald from back in May detailing all the potential issues that have to do with the signing of draft picks from this past April's draft:
I hope to find out the answers to these questions sometime soon in the next couple of days. Until then, enjoy the beginning of training camp tomorrow.