The New York Giants continue to position themselves for a big start to free agency, and with less than 24 hours to go until the start of the new league year, longtime right guard Chris Snee has agreed to a significant reduction in his salary to assist in the effort.
Snee's pay cut is no surprise. He said publicly that he expected to have to take a pay cut when he decided to put off retirement and play another season for the Giants.
Snee has agreed to reduce his base salary from $7.2 million to $1.1 million, plus another $1 million in incentives, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Prior to Monday, the Giants had about $18.1 million in cap space, according to ESPN's figures. They'll gain an additional $1.775 million with the release of center David Baas ($5 million if they designate him for post-June 1 release) and then the big chunk ($5.6 million) Snee has agreed to hand them.
The Giants are expected to be aggressive once free agency starts at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, pursuing a new center, likely at least one new guard and a cornerback early in the free-agent signing period.
Other needs include wide receiver, tight end, running back, middle linebacker, defensive tackle and defensive end. Some of those could be filled if they were to re-sign some of their own free agents, such as Hakeem Nicks, Andre Brown, Jon Beason, Linval Joseph and Justin Tuck.
But at this point it appears all of those big names are likely to hit the market, with Beason the only one who looks like a good bet to re-sign.