'Tis the season of rumors.
With the NFL negotiating period kicking off today in advance of Wednesday's start to free agency, information is flying across the league. But what do we know for sure? Here, Giants.com looks at what we know and what we don't know at the start of a pivotal week on the NFL calendar.
What we know
Clubs are operating with a reduced salary cap
After months of speculation, the 2021 NFL salary cap was set at $182.5 million.
The new number is down from $198.2 million in 2020 as the league deals with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL had previously set the salary cap floor at $180 million.
Starting Monday at noon, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2020 player contracts. They cannot sign until the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 17.
Giants have already begun making moves
On Tuesday, nine players were designated as non-exclusive franchise players around the league, including Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams. It was the second consecutive year Williams received the franchise tag as he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after a career season in 2020. The Giants also released veteran guard Kevin Zeitler, who started all 31 games in which he played in two seasons with Big Blue.
2021 Franchise Players:
- DT Leonard Williams (Giants)
- OL Taylor Moton (Panthers)
- WR Allen Robinson (Bears)
- QB Dak Prescott* (Cowboys)
- S Justin Simmons (Broncos)
- OL Cam Robinson (Jaguars)
- S Marcus Williams (Saints)
- S Marcus Maye (Jets)
- WR Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)
*Denotes "Exclusive" Franchise Player
Giants' pending free agents
The following players are set to hit the market at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Unrestricted Free Agents:
- DB Adrian Colbert
- S Nate Ebner
- LB Kyler Fackrell
- OT Cameron Fleming
- RB Wayne Gallman
- DL Austin Johnson
- LS Casey Kreiter
- RB Dion Lewis
- QB Colt McCoy
- RB Alfred Morris
- C Spencer Pulley
- LB Jabaal Sheard
- DL Dalvin Tomlinson
- Restricted Free Agents:
- WR C.J. Board
- LB Devante Downs
Restricted Free Agents:
- WR C.J. Board
- LB Devante Downs
View NFL.com's updated rankings of the top 101 free agents of 2021 ahead of the new league year, which begins March 17.

No. 101 QB Mitchell Trubisky

No. 100 EDGE Everson Griffen

No. 99 DT Al-Quadin Muhammad

No. 98 CB Chidobe Awuzie (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Awuzie.)

No. 97 EDGE Kerry Hyder

No. 96 WR Breshad Perriman

No. 95 RB James White

No. 94 DT Kawann Short

No. 93 RB James Conner

No. 92 S Kareem Jackson

No. 91 TE Dan Arnold

No. 90 DT Lawrence Guy

No. 89 WR Emmanuel Sanders

No. 88 CB Troy Hill

No. 87 S Malik Hooker

No. 86 EDGE Takkarist McKinley (The Cleveland Browns have reportedly agreed to a deal with McKinley.)

No. 85 G Kyle Long

No. 84 CB Casey Hayward Jr.

No. 83 CB Quinton Dunbar

No. 82 NT Tyson Alualu Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Alualu.)

No. 81 DE Derek Wolfe (Update: The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a three-year deal with Wolfe.)

No. 80 OT Kelvin Beachum (Update: The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a two-year deal with Beachum).

No. 79 RB Marlon Mack

No. 78 CB Bashaud Breeland

No. 77 QB Tyrod Taylor

No. 76 EDGE Aldon Smith

No. 75 DB Desmond King II

No. 74 OT Alejandro Villanueva

No. 73 RB Duke Johnson

No. 72 TE Gerald Everett

No. 71 OT Riley Reiff

No. 70 S Keanu Neal

No. 69 DT Sheldon Rankins

No. 68 WR Cordarrelle Patterson

No. 67 C Austin Reiter

No. 66 S Xavier Woods

No. 65 LB Kyle Van Noy

No. 64 DT Ndamukong Suh

No. 63 DT Larry Ogunjobi

No. 62 CB Patrick Peterson

No. 61 RB Kenyan Drake

No. 60 CB K'Waun Williams

No. 59 S Jaquiski Tartt

No. 58 NT DaQuan Jones

No. 57 CB Janoris Jenkins

No. 56 WR Antonio Brown

No. 55 QB Jacoby Brissett

No. 54 CB Michael Davis (Update: The Los Angeles Chargers have agreed to a multi-year deal with Davis.)

No. 53 CB Xavier Rhodes

No. 52 WR Sammy Watkins

No. 51 CB Richard Sherman

No. 50 DE Denico Autry

No. 49 WR Marvin Jones (Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Jones.)

No. 48 WR John Brown

No. 47 CB Malcolm Butler

No. 46 WR Nelson Agholor (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Agholor.)

No. 45 TE Rob Gronkowski

No. 44 LB K.J. Wright

No. 43 OT Eric Fisher

No. 42 RB Chris Carson

No. 41 EDGE Melvin Ingram

No. 40 CB Mike Hilton (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Hilton.)

No. 39 S Anthony Harris

No. 38 C David Andrews

No. 37 QB Andy Dalton

No. 36 CB Adoree' Jackson

No. 35 EDGE Carlos Dunlap

No. 34 WR T.Y. Hilton

No. 33 CB Ronald Darby (Update: The Denver Broncos have reportedly agreed to a deal with Darby.)

No. 32 CB Jason Verrett

No. 31 LB Jayon Brown

No. 30 EDGE Haason Reddick

No. 29 EDGE Justin Houston

No. 28 C Rodney Hudson

No. 27 DE Shelby Harris (Update: The Denver Broncos have agreed to a three-year deal with Harris.)

No. 26 OT Mitchell Schwartz

No. 25 CB William Jackson (Update: The Washington Football Team has agreed to terms with Jackson.)

No. 24 EDGE Leonard Floyd (Update: The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a four-year deal with Floyd.)

No. 23 S John Johnson (Update: The Cleveland Browns have reportedly agreed to a deal with Johnson.)

No. 22 DL Dalvin Tomlinson (The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a deal with Tomlinson.)

No. 21 WR Corey Davis (Update: The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a deal with Davis.)

No. 20 EDGE Romeo Okwara (Update: The Detroit Lions have signed Okwara to a multi-year deal.)

No. 19 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Update: The Washington Football Team have reportedly agreed to a deal with Fitzpatrick.)

No. 18 CB Shaquill Griffin (Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Griffin.)

No. 17 TE Hunter Henry (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Henry.)

No. 16 TE Jonnu Smith (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Smith.)

No. 15 WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

No. 14 WR Curtis Samuel

No. 13 QB Jameis Winston (Update: The New Orleans Saints have agreed to a one-year contract with Winston.)

No. 12 WR Will Fuller

No. 11 EDGE Yannick Ngakoue

No. 10 C Corey Linsley

No. 9 EDGE Matt Judon (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Judon.)

No. 8 G Joe Thuney

No. 7 EDGE Jadeveon Clowney

No. 6 WR Kenny Golladay

No. 5 EDGE Carl Lawson (Update: The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a deal with Lawson.)

No. 4 EDGE Trey Hendrickson (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Hendrickson.)

No. 3 EDGE Bud Dupree

No. 2 EDGE Shaquil Barrett (Update: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed Barrett to a multi-year deal.)

No. 1 OT Trent Williams
What we don't know
How will the reduced salary cap affect the Giants' plans?
A year after hitting home runs in free agency with players like linebacker Blake Martinez (defensive captain), cornerback James Bradberry (Pro Bowler), and Logan Ryan (earned contract extension in December), we will wait to see what impact free agency will have on the 2021 roster.
"The goal to best manage the cap is to get flat contracts," general manager Dave Gettleman said in a press conference last week. "So, if a guy is making $15 million – it's a 3-year deal at $45 million – you'd like to have a $15 million cap number every year, that's the goal. once you start restructuring or renegotiating, you usually back-end load them. What you're doing is you're kicking the can, so it depends upon how much pain you want to deal with. That's really what it is. Some teams philosophically say, 'The heck with it,' and they restructure and some people don't. It's a philosophical conversation, but it's not a good place to get to, to constantly restructure and renegotiate."
With or without Nate Solder, what will the offensive line look like?
Solder opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which opened the door for rookie Andrew Thomas, the fourth overall draft pick, to start at left tackle. He was one of three rookies – Matt Peart and Shane Lemieux were the others – to start at least one game on the Giants' offensive line last season. That was in addition to Nick Gates transitioning to center.
"Look, I'm not going to speak for Nate," coach Joe Judge said last week. "The answer is yes, I have talked to Nate. To be honest with you, the majority of our conversations have actually had nothing to do with football. I've talked a good bit with Nate since the end of the season and just checked up on him in terms of how the year off went, how his family is doing, how his son is doing and how he's doing personally. There have been a lot of conversations. We have talked some football. There are other areas of our building as well that are in conversations with Nate, but when the time comes to address all that we'll know. Obviously, these things don't all happen in one day and we'll see where everything goes, but these are players we'd love to have back, they're guys on our roster."
Meanwhile, Zeitler, the team's right guard, leaves a void of 135 games worth of experience up front. The offensive line will also be under new leadership again in 2021 after Judge hired Rob Sale as the position coach. Former Giants offensive line coach Pat Flaherty, who won two Super Bowls in his first tenure, also joined the staff as an offensive/defensive consultant.
Gettleman made it clear that he was comfortable starting two sophomores – Thomas and Peart – at the tackle spots in 2021, but what about the interior? Will the Giants bolster the group in free agency or the draft?
"Listen, every player was a rookie at some point or a young player at some point," Gettleman said. "At some point in time, you have to have confidence in who's on your club and you have to put him in there and let him play. Like I've said to some of you, how many of you had Pulitzer Prize-winning articles your first or second year?"
Sign or draft an offensive playmaker? Or both?
Accentuated by the season-ending injury to Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley, the Giants are in the market for offensive weapons this offseason. Gettleman made that clear in his season-ending press conference in January, and he hasn't changed his mind two months later.
"Every team needs playmakers, let's be honest," Gettleman said. "Good Lord willing, Saquon will be 100 percent and obviously he'll make a huge difference. A healthy Saquon obviously makes a big difference, but, again, you're always looking to add good players. And, oh, by the way, we're not playing until September, so we've got free agency and we've got the draft, and we'll see how it plays out. It's not like we don't realize what we need, but, again, at the end of the day it's also about adding really good players. You can never have too many good players at any positions. Sure, we have our eye out for that, but we also have our eye out for guys that fit us culturally and fit where we're trying to get to."
With training camp here, view photos of every move made by the Giants this offseason.


DT Leonard Williams - Signed to three-year contract

WR Kenny Golladay - Free Agent Signing

CB Adoree' Jackson - Free Agent Signing

TE Kyle Rudolph - Free Agent Signing

WR John Ross - Free Agent Signing

DT Danny Shelton - Free Agent Signing

LB Reggie Ragland - Free Agent Signing

DE Ifeadi Odenigbo - Free Agent Signing

WR Kadarius Toney - Selected with 20th pick in 2021 NFL Draft

WR Kadarius Toney - Selection List Signing

LB Azeez Ojulari - Selected with 50th pick in 2021 NFL Draft

LB Azeez Ojulari - Selection List Signing

CB Aaron Robinson - Selected with 71st pick in 2021 NFL Draft

CB Aaron Robinson - Selection List Signing

LB Elerson Smith - Selected with 116th pick in 2021 NFL Draft

LB Elerson Smith - Selection List Signing

RB Gary Brightwell - Selected with 196th pick in 2021 NFL Draft

RB Gary Brightwell - Selection List Signing

CB Rodarius WIlliams - Selected with 201st pick in 2021 NFL Draft

CB Rodarius Williams - Selection List Signing

RB Saquon Barkley - Fifth-year option picked up

RB Devontae Booker - Free Agent Signing

QB Mike Glennon - Free Agent Signing

OLB Ryan Anderson - Free Agent Signing

OL Zach Fulton - Free Agent Signing

OL Jonotthan Harrison - Free Agent Signing

OL Joe Looney - Free Agent Signing

WR Damion Willis - Free Agent Signing

RB Corey Clement - Free Agent Signing

C Brett Heggie - Undrafted Free Agent Signing

G Jake Burton - Undrafted Free Agent Signing

DE Raymond Johnson - Undrafted Free Agent Signing

DT Austin Johnson - Signed to new contract with Giants

WR C.J. Board

LS Casey Kreiter - Signed to new contract with Giants

LB Devante Downs - Free Agent Signing

FB Cullen Gillaspia - Free Agent Signing

DB Joshua Kalu - Free Agent Signing

TE Cole Hikutini - Free Agent Signing

DB Chris Milton

RB Mike Weber - Free Agent Signing

DB Jordyn Peters - Free Agent Signing

WR Alex Bachman - Signed to a reserve/future deal

LB Trent Harris - Signed to a reserve/future deal

DB Montre Hartage - Signed to a reserve/future deal

TE Rysen John - Signed to a reserve/future deal

DT David Moa - Signed to a reserve/future deal

G Chad Slade - Signed to a reserve/future deal

QB Clayton Thorson - Signed to a reserve/future deal

LS Carson Tinker - Signed to a reserve/future deal

G Kenny Wiggins - Signed to a reserve/future deal

DB Jarren Williams - Signed to a reserve/future deal

DB Quincy Wilson - Signed to a reserve/future deal

OT Jackson Barton - Signed, Renegotiated Contract: Exclusive Rights

DB Madre Harper - Signed, Renegotiated Contract: Exclusive Rights

WR Derrick Dillon - Signed to a reserve/future deal

WR David Sills - Signed, Renegotiated Contract: Exclusive Rights

TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart - Signed to a reserve/future deal

LB Cale Garrett - Signed to a reserve/future deal

P Ryan Santoso - Signed to a reserve/future deal

G Kevin Zeitler - Released

WR Golden Tate - Released

RB Devonta Freeman - Waived, from Reserve/Injured

WR Da'Mari Scott - Waived, No Recall

DB Shakial Taylor - Waived, No Recall

LB David Mayo - Released

WR Cody Core - Released

CB Ryan Lewis - Waived
