New York Giants linebacker J.T. Thomas is a candidate to be cut after missing nearly all of 2016 due to injury.
In 2017, New York Giants linebacker J.T. Thomas will be on the books for a $4 million cap hit.
That is a big figure for a player who didn’t even play a single full game the year before. Thomas landed on injured reserve after tearing the ligaments in his left knee while on kickoff coverage in the first half of New York’s season-opening victory against the Dallas Cowboys.
Unfortunately, the injury concerns for the former Jacksonville Jaguar don’t end there either. Thomas spent the majority of the 2016 training camp on the physically unable to perform list due to a hamstring injury. He was also sidelined for four games with an ankle injury the year before that in 2015, his first season as a Giant.
Per Spotrac, New York can cut bait with Thomas and incur only $1 million in dead money. Moving on from the five-year pro would free up $3 million in cap space for the Giants.
With needs elsewhere, if Thomas is not willing to restructure than New York should definitely release him. It would be impossible to justify shelling out the full $4 million to a player that doesn’t even project as one of your starting linebackers.
The money the team could save would be far better used locking up another member of their linebackers corps: Keenan Robinson. After playing on a one-year “prove it” deal in 2016, Robinson’s excellent play should earn him a multi-year extension over the summer. Those extra millions will be very helpful for New York in making that happen.