The new league year is almost here.

Beginning at noon on March 9, NFL clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents. No player is permitted to execute a contract with a new club until 4 p.m. ET on March 11, when the signing period officially begins.

Teams were informed recently that the 2026 salary cap has been set at $301.2 million per club, marking another record figure and a $22 million increase over last year. Below is a look at the Giants' pending free agents, followed by the latest reports and official transactions as they unfold.

Unrestricted Free Agents (21) - Any player with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract; free to negotiate and sign with any team.

• TE Daniel Bellinger
• S Dane Belton
• DL D.J. Davidson
• OLB Victor Dimukeje
• OL Jermaine Eluemunor
• OL Joshua Ezeudu
• LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
• CB Cor'Dale Flott
• LS Casey Kreiter
• ILB Neville Hewitt
• WR Isaiah Hodgins
• TE Chris Manhertz
• ILB Micah McFadden
• OL Evan Neal
• DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Sr.
• WR Gunner Olszewski (re-signed)
• WR Wan'Dale Robinson
• C Austin Schlottmann
• OL Aaron Stinnie
• G Greg Van Roten
• QB Russell Wilson

Restricted Free Agents (4) - A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers ("tenders") that come with the Right of First Refusal and/or draft-pick compensation.

• WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton
• LB Zaire Barnes
• OLB Caleb Murphy
• OLB Tomon Fox

Exclusive Rights Free Agents (3) - Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum (based on his credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.

• CB Art Green
• CB Nic Jones
• WR Ryan Miller

Keep checking back to this page for the latest reports and official signings.

March 6

WR Gunner Olszewski (re-signed)

Olszewski appeared in 16 games for the Giants last season, where he primarily played on special teams. The 29-year-old returned 24 punts for 216 yards (9.0 avg.) and 26 kickoffs for 682 yards (26.2 avg.). In limited snaps on offense, Olszewski had 10 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Jameis Winston on a trick play against the Lions. After heading into the 2025 season finale with just 17 career receptions for 223 yards, Olszewski caught eight passes for 102 yards in the Week 18 win over the Cowboys.

Olszewski was brought back during training camp last year after spending the entire 2024 campaign on injured reserve. He played 10 games with the Giants in 2023 and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his 94-yard punt return touchdown in Week 17. It was the second longest punt return in Giants history and the longest in 95 years. In his 10 games with the Giants that season, Olszewski returned 23 punts for 273 yards (11.9 avg.) and the touchdown.

Olszewski began his career as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots. He spent his first three seasons there and was named first-team All-Pro in 2020 after leading the NFL with a 17.3-yard punt return average, which also set a new Patriots record. He then joined the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he played in 18 games across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns before joining the Giants midseason.

OT James Hudson III (released)

Hudson, who signed as a free agent a year ago, appeared in 11 games and made two starts at left tackle at the beginning of his first and only season with the Giants. A former fourth-round draft choice by the Browns in 2021, Hudson has played in 60 career games with 19 starts. He missed the majority of the 2024 season after suffering a shoulder injury.

March 4

LB Bobby Okereke (released)

The Giants released linebacker Bobby Okereke, who was voted a captain in each of his three seasons with the franchise. Originally a third-round pick by the Colts in 2019, Okereke signed with the Giants as a free agent in 2023 and started all but five games during his tenure with New York. Okereke finished the 2025 season with 143 tackles, the fourth-most ever by a Giant. He is the only player in franchise history to post 140+ total tackles in multiple seasons.

Okereke was the 2025 club winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which recognizes players for excellence on and off the field.

Including his four years in Indianapolis, Okereke has played in 110 games with 95 starts. His career totals include 794 tackles (34 for loss), 36 passes defensed, 11 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 7.5 sacks, and seven interceptions. A back injury caused Okereke to miss the final five games of the 2024 season, a year after he played 100 percent of the Giants' defensive snaps.

2026 NFL Free Agency Questions & Answers

Q. When does the 2026 free agency signing period begin?

A. At 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11.

Q. When is the two-day negotiating period for potential unrestricted free agents?

A. From 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 9 until 3:59:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon expiration of their 2025 player contracts at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 11. The two-day negotiating period applies only to prospective unrestricted free agents. It does not apply to players who have received, or who may receive, a required tender applicable to the 2026 League Year (e.g., exclusive rights players, restricted free agents, franchise players or transition players).

Q. What are the categories of free agency?

A. Players are either "restricted free agents" or "unrestricted free agents." A restricted free agent may be subject to a "qualifying offer." A restricted or unrestricted free agent may be designated by his prior club as its franchise player or transition player.

Q. What is the time period for free agency signings this year?

A. For restricted free agents, from March 11 to April 17.

For unrestricted free agents who have received a tender from their prior club by the Monday immediately following the final day of the NFL Draft for the 2026 League Year (i.e., April 27), from March 11 to July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later).

For franchise players, from March 11 until the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season, November 17.

For transition players, from March 11 until July 22. After July 22 and until 4 p.m. ET on the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season, November 17, the prior club has exclusive negotiating rights to unrestricted free agents and transition players. If the above-listed players do not sign by November 17, they must sit out the season.

Q. What is the difference between a restricted free agent and an unrestricted free agent?

A. In the 2026 league year, players with three accrued seasons who have received a qualifying offer become restricted free agents when their contracts expire at the conclusion of the 2025 league year on March 11. Unrestricted free agents have completed four or more accrued seasons. Upon expiration of his 2025 contract, an unrestricted free agent is free to sign with any club with no draft-choice compensation owed to his old club.

Q. What constitutes an "accrued season"?

A. Six or more regular season games on a club's active/inactive, reserve/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists.

Q. How do the free agency rules apply to restricted free agents?

A. If a player with three accrued seasons has received a "qualifying offer" (a salary tender predetermined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its players) from his old club, he can negotiate with any club through April 17. If the restricted free agent signs an offer sheet with a new club, his old club can match the offer and retain him because the qualifying offer entitles it to a "right of first refusal" on any offer sheet the player signs. If the old club does not match the offer, it may receive draft-choice compensation depending on the amount of its qualifying offer. If an offer sheet is not executed on or before April 17, the player's negotiating rights revert exclusively to his old club. In addition, prior to the start of free agency a player who would otherwise be a restricted free agent may be designated by his old club as its franchise player or transition player.

Q. What are the right of first refusal/qualifying offer amounts for players who have completed three accrued seasons?

A. For right of first refusal only, a one-year salary of at least $3,520,000.

For right of first refusal and compensation at the player's original draft round, a one-year salary of at least $3,674,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

For right of first refusal and compensation of one second-round draft selection, a one-year salary of at least $5,767,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

For right of first refusal and compensation of one first-round draft selection, a one-year salary of at least $8,046,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

For right of first refusal and compensation of only one first-round draft selection, but any provision in the new club's offer sheet waiving or limiting the new club's ability to designate the player as a franchise or transition player is not a principal term and need not be matched by the prior club, a one-year salary of at least $8,546,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

Q. What determines an unrestricted free agent?

A. A player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract has expired. He is free to sign with any club, with no draft-choice compensation owed to his old club, through July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later). At that point, his negotiating rights revert exclusively to his old club if by April 27 the old club tendered the player a one-year contract for 110 percent of his prior year's salary. His old club then has until the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season (November 17) to sign him. If he does not sign by that date, he must sit out the season. If no tender is offered by April 27, the player can be signed by any club at any time throughout the season.

Q. What determines a franchise player?

A. The salary offer by a player's club determines what type of franchise player he is: exclusive or non-exclusive.

An "exclusive" franchise player – not free to sign with another club – is offered the greater of (i) the average of the top five salaries at the player's position for the current year as of the end of the restricted free agent signing period on April 17; or (ii) the amount of the required tender for a non-exclusive franchise player, as explained below.

Article 10, Section 2(a)(i) of the CBA sets forth the methodology, known as the "Cap Percentage Average," for calculating the required tender for a non-exclusive franchise player:

The Nonexclusive Franchise Tender shall be a one year NFL Player Contract for (A) the average of the five largest Prior Year Salaries for players at the position . . . at which the Franchise Player participated in the most plays during the prior League Year, which average shall be calculated by: (1) summing the amounts of the Franchise Tags for players at that position for the five preceding League Years; (2) dividing the resulting amount by the sum of the Salary Caps for the five preceding League Years . . . ; and (3) multiplying the resulting percentage by the Salary Cap for the upcoming League Year . . . (the "Cap Percentage Average") . . . ; or (B) 120% of his Prior Year Salary, whichever is greater . . . .

If a club extends a required tender to a "non-exclusive" franchise player pursuant to this section, the player shall be permitted to negotiate a player contract with any club, except that draft-choice compensation of two first-round draft selections shall be made in the event he signs with a new club.

Q. How many franchise players and transition players can a team designate each season?

A. A club can designate one franchise player or one transition player among its potential restricted or unrestricted free agents.

Q. Can a club decide to withdraw its franchise or transition designation on a player?

A. Yes. A club can withdraw its franchise or transition designation, and the player then automatically becomes an unrestricted free agent, either immediately if the tender is withdrawn after the start of the 2026 League Year, or when his 2025 contract expires if the tender is withdrawn before the start of the 2026 League Year.

Q. What is the salary cap for 2026?

A. The salary cap is $301,200,000 per club.

Q. When must teams be in compliance with the salary cap?

A. At the start of the 2026 League Year, which begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11.

Q. If a team is under the salary cap at the end of a given season, can the team "carry over" room to the next season?

A. Yes. A team may carry over room from one league year to the following league year by submitting notice to the NFL prior to 4:00 p.m. ET on the day following the team's final regular-season game, indicating the amount of room that the club wishes to carry over.

Q. What is the maximum amount of room that a club can carry over?

A. A club can carry over 100 percent of its remaining 2025 room to its adjusted salary cap for 2026.