Scratch the Chiefs from the James Bradberry sweepstakes.
Kansas City has been tied to the Giants‘ on-the-way-out cornerback for a while now. But the Chiefs were never actually involved and do not plan to be, according to NFL.com.
Why? For the same reasons general manager Joe Schoen is doing everything he can to ship Bradberry out of town: He makes too much money. The Giants don’t want to carry around his $13.4 million salary in 2022, and neither do the Chiefs.
But here’s the issue: While the Giants are determined to trade Bradberry and get something back, the rest of the league has no reason to play ball. Sure, he’s a good player — under 30, Pro Bowler in 2020, relatively durable. But everyone knows the Giants have no choice but to move on given their salary cap issues and, if all else fails, will cut him. So why throw Schoen a lifeline?
The Giants couldn’t deal Bradberry before free agency started. They couldn’t deal him before $2 million of his salary became guaranteed in mid-March. Now it’s hard to see him getting moved before the NFL Draft at the end of the month. And if Bradberry somehow is moved in the coming days, the Giants are going to end up taking on more salary to make a deal happen. If there is a real asset to be had, like a third- or fourth-round pick this year, great. If not, what’s the point?
The Giants can’t restructure Bradberry’s contract again — they need to avoid the Dave Gettleman-esque can kicking that got them in this miserable place — and they certainly do not want to extend him. So they either cut him or trade him. It is beginning to look like the former may be much more likely than the latter. If Schoen was willing to let Logan Ryan walk for nothing, he should be able to get over doing the same with Bradberry.
