James Bradberry was released by the New York Giants on Monday to save money.
The new general manager tried to trade Bradberry since before free agency, but couldn't find anything that worked for everyone. Last week, he acknowledged he was surprised that there wasn't more interest in the team's No. 1 corner.
He said on WFAN that he thought there would be more interest. There were some teams that showed interest before the draft, and we had a few times where compensation was in place, but the contract never worked out. Being the fact that we did have good talks with the other teams and their agents had good talks with teams, it is what it is.
The Giants moved because of money, not an indictment on the player. Bradberry was set to make $13.5 million this season and would have counted as $21.9 million on the team's salary cap. His release leaves the Giants thin at the corner, where Jackson is the only veteran with starting experience.
The Giants needed the savings to operate throughout the season. As of last week, they were $6 million under the cap.
At the start of the league year, Bradberry had $2 million of his $13.4 million base salary guaranteed.
He is a starting corner in the league. We still have to sign our draft picks, sign our practice squad, and pay replacement costs during the season.
The Giants have to eat dead money against the cap despite the move. They have close to $30 million in dead money, which is fifth most in the NFL.
One of the Giants' most productive players has left the team. Bradberry was one of five players to make the Pro Bowl. He made the Pro Bowl in his first year with the Giants and had a career-best 79.8 Pro Football Focus grade. He has been in the 60s for every other year of his career. The veteran defensive back had a career high with four picks and recovered a couple of turnovers.
Bradberry was with the Carolina Panthers for four years. The Giants signed him as a free agent in 2020 to a three-year deal. It was more difficult to trade him for a one-year rental because he was entering the final year of that deal.
He has played in 92 games for the Giants and the Carolinas.
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