With the Giants hiring a new G.M., looking for a coach, and potentially searching for a different quarterback, some have mused about the possibility of Texan quarterback Deshaun Watson landing in New York.
On Wednesday, the man who claims he doesn’t interfere with personnel decisions communicated a clear personnel decision that someone other than him (eye-roll emoji) has made.
Via Dan Duggan of TheAthletic.com, Giants co-owner John Mara “unequivocally ruled out” a trade for Deshaun Watson.
Mara claims there are “so many reasons” for the decision, citing the pending sexual misconduct allegations and “salary-cap implications.”
The first one makes sense. The second one never does. It’s become an excuse to justify not doing something that otherwise could be done.
Watson is under contract for four years, with a payout of $136 million. ($34 million per year.) He has a $35 million payout in 2022, which could easily be converted to a signing bonus with a much lower cap number.
As high-end quarterback contracts go, it’s a bargain. With the application of some accounting elbow grease, they could make it palatable. They don’t want to.
And that’s fine. That’s their prerogative. But the supposed salary-cap shield is all too often coated in a patina of poop from a bull. If the Giants really wanted Watson, the salary cap wouldn’t be an issue.