Giants free agency primer: Saquon Barkley and other big moves to watch - ESPN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In his first season as New York Giants general manager, Joe Schoen didn't have money to spend. His biggest free agent signings were guard Mark Glowinski and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Last year, with more money at his disposal, Schoen was more active but still didn't make any big splashes. Instead, the Giants concentrated on re-signing building-block players while adding middle linebacker Bobby Okereke in free agency and trading for tight end Darren Waller.

The Giants are currently $38.1 million under the salary cap, according to Roster Management System. That number can easily approach $50 million if they convert a chunk of Dexter Lawrence's and Andrew Thomas' 2024 base salaries to roster bonuses as expected.

Still, don't expect Schoen and the Giants to go all-in when the free agent negotiating window opens Monday and players can officially begin signing at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

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«We don't have that many young players that we're looking to extend like we had last year,» Schoen said. «So, it's balancing signing those guys outside the building that can be role players or starters, but also understanding we want to build this through the draft. When we took the job, we still wanted to build the team through the draft and supplement it with free agency. And that's still going to be the case.»

There is one area, however, where the Giants are willing to pay. League sources expect the Giants to exploring signing a player near the top of the guard market. They're also expected