For a franchise that spent the better part of the last decade searching for answers at quarterback, the Giants might’ve finally found clarity. Well, not in who can lead them, but in who absolutely can’t. The Daniel Jones era has long since tipped into disappointment, but the residue of that $160 million contract continues to stain every page of the team’s present. Even after saving $19 million, releasing him in November, the real cost of Jones’ failure isn’t just dead cap. It’s the futures the NYG now chases because of what they lost trying to believe.
They passed on C.J. Stroud. Let go of Saquon Barkley. Burned the prime years of Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas. And now, in a desperate bid to erase the aftertaste of that decision, they’re dropping $45 million on a rookie linebacker who hasn’t played a single down in the NFL. That’s not a plan. That’s a cover-up.
The Giants signed Abdul Carter—the former Penn State heat-seeker known more for violence than volume—to a four-year deal worth $45 million, with $22 million guaranteed. Carter is a hybrid linebacker who projects to roam and strike, part Micah Parsons, part Manhattan hope. And that’s what being a No. 3 overall in a not-so-QB-stacked class gets you.
However, Carter didn’t ask for this storyline, but he walks into a defense that’s been gutted and restructured around Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Giants are banking on speed, aggression, and chaos—three things Carter does provide. But they’re also banking on projection. And now they’ve paid him like a plug-and-play chess piece. Let’s get one thing straight: it wasn’t that easy. But they got it done.
In order to get far enough under the cap to complete the signing of Abdul Carter, the Giants restructured the contract of Brian Burns by converting $10M+ of his base salary into a signing bonus.
Burns and Carter will soon tag team to make life difficult on opposing QBs. https://t.co/xo2SQukc0L
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 22, 2025
The Giants’ decision to release Daniel Jones came with an unexpected upside: the Colts signed him just before March 16, saving them $12 million in the process. That move, coupled with their rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart being on a cheap rookie contract, helped set up a healthier financial outlook. According to Over the Cap, the Giants will have $28.2 million in cap space in 2026. If so, that’d be 14th most in the league. That flexibility isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential when you’re rebuilding around young, cost-controlled talent.
But cap space doesn’t stretch far when you’re paying premium for elite talent. To finalize the signing of Carter, to a four-year, $45.3 million fully guaranteed deal, the Giants had to create room. With less than $2 million in space, GM Joe Schoen restructured Burns’ deal, converting over $10 million of his base salary into a signing bonus.
However, it’s worth noting what this means in the broader blueprint. Joe and Brian Daboll, already wobbling after the Jones debacle, are swinging on traits again. First with Jones’ “smart, tough, dependable” pitch. Now with Carter’s “motor, instincts, edge.” The issue isn’t belief in potential. It’s how loudly the team is paying to believe. But the thing is, Carter’s ceiling is way too high and no one’s doubting that. It’s the weight of the expectation that becomes an Achilles in this part of New York.
Abdul Carter’s a top talent, per this scout
So, about that Kayvon Thibodeaux trade chatter. Yeah, that quieted down real fast. The Giants picked up his fifth-year option for 2026, all while adding another edge monster in Abdul Carter. That alone should tell you the plan: Don’t replace Thibodeaux, reduce the burden off him. Former linebacker-turned-analyst Jonathan Casillas sees it that way too. He actually likes what Joe Schoen is cooking. “I love the fact that [Schoen] didn’t [trade] Kayvon Thibodeaux,” Casillas said.
You see, Thibodeaux’s been doing a little too much cardio. Seventy-five percent of defensive snaps last year, 87 the year before. And what’s he got to show for it? Five and a half sacks in 12 games, and a post-season wrist surgery. Casillas thinks the guy’s been gassed by the time third downs roll around. “He wants to sell out on third down, but he ain’t got no juice left,” Casillas said. That’s a defensive red flag. So yeah, expect the snap count to dip, but not the expectations.
Which brings us to Abdul Carter—the 6’3″, 250-pound wrecking ball who just landed in New York with top-3 pick hype and All-Pro tools. According to one Giants scout, Carter’s “a top player in any draft.” Not just this draft—any draft. That’s not small talk. That’s gospel in NFL war rooms.
Carter was everywhere on tape: flying around at linebacker, blowing up plays off the edge. His bend? Lethal. His speed? Unfair. You watch him move and wonder if the game’s even fair anymore. “The explosiveness off the edge, it’s the top in the draft,” said scout Jeremy Breit. And that’s the floor.
Now the Giants have options. Lots of them. Want Carter flying in from the edge? Cool. Drop him inside and let him eat up space? He can do that too. The depth chart hasn’t dropped yet, but if you’re picturing him on the right side with Thibodeaux opposite and Burns wrecking things from wherever—you’re probably not far off. It’s a new-look front, and it might actually be scary. And sigh, Big Blue… maybe, just maybe, this time you finally drafted someone who doesn’t just look good on paper.
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