The cap-strapped Giants restructured one pass rusher’s contract on Thursday to pay for another’s.
No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter signed his rookie contract, locking in a four-year, $45.2 million deal that includes a $29.5 million signing bonus and a fifth-year option if the Giants wish to exercise it, the team announced.
The Giants had an NFL-low $1.6 million in salary cap space as a team as of Thursday morning, however, to fit Carter’s $8.2 million cap hit for his first season.
So they restructured Brian Burns’ monstrous contract to convert $10 million-plus of his base salary into a signing bonus to clear room, per ESPN.
Carter joins offensive lineman Marcus Mbow (fifth round), tight end Thomas Fidone II (seventh) and cornerback Korie Black (seventh) as Giants draft picks who have signed their contracts so far.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart (first round), defensive tackle Darius Alexander (third round) and running back Cam Skattebo (fourth round) still need to sign, but it’s not uncommon for rookies to delay signing, while purchasing insurance against the contract as they participate in offseason workouts just in case.
The Giants’ offseason program is scheduled to ramp up next Tuesday with the first of 10 voluntary OTA practices at the team’s facility in East Rutherford, N.J. Wednesday will be the first OTA practice open to the media.
That will build toward a mandatory minicamp on June 17-18 before the team breaks until the start of training camp in late July.
