The New York Giants were able to expand their salary cap on Monday by converting $4.175 million from the contract of All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas into a signing bonus, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

The Giants now have much more financial flexibility

By restructuring the contract, the Giants gain an additional $3.34 million in salary cap space, which they can now use to sign players at key positions where they lack depth, such as cornerback. Thomas signed one of the largest contracts for an offensive lineman before last season at five years and $117.5 million and would have had over $23 million in salary cap space in 2024, the most in any contract year, according to Spotrac.

According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, this restructuring will have no impact on Thomas’ weekly earnings and is purely due to salary cap concerns. The added financial flexibility is huge for New York, as injuries are piling up at key positions on defense and they generally lack depth in some areas.

The Giants need depth at cornerback and linebacker

The Giants missed the opportunity to sign former All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore, as he signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings earlier this week. There are other available free agents at the position that the Giants could acquire, such as Eli Apple (a former Giant) and Xavien Howard.

They could also use more depth at linebacker, given Azeez Ojulari’s lengthy injury history and the fact that Micah McFadden suffered a hip injury in Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans.

Just because they now have that extra salary cap space doesn’t mean they’ll make a game-changing addition, but it does give them more flexibility on the open market to look for cheaper players that could fill big holes in the roster. Restructuring one of the team’s most lucrative contracts may seem like a small move, but it’s a very smart one by General Manager Joe Schoen as they look to address all other areas on the football field.