The first game of the 2021 season won't kick off until September, but the new league year is days away.
Starting Monday, clubs are permitted to contact -- and enter into contract negotiations with -- the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2020 player contracts. They cannot sign until the start of the new league year, which begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 17.
Below is a look at which Giants are set to become free agents:
Unrestricted Free Agents:
- DB Adrian Colbert
- S Nate Ebner
- LB Kyler Fackrell
- OT Cameron Fleming
- RB Wayne Gallman
- DL Austin Johnson
- LS Casey Kreiter
- RB Dion Lewis
- QB Colt McCoy
- RB Alfred Morris
- C Spencer Pulley
- LB Jabaal Sheard
- DL Dalvin Tomlinson
- DL Leonard Williams (UPDATE: Giants placed franchise tag on Williams for second consecutive year.)
Restricted Free Agents:
- WR C.J. Board
- LB Devante Downs
DATES TO KNOW
March 15-17: Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2020 player contracts. They cannot sign until the start of the new league year.
March 17: The 2021 league year and free agency period begin at 4:00 p.m. ET.
April 23: Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign offer sheets.
April 29-May 1: 2021 NFL Draft, Cleveland, Ohio.
View NFL.com's updated rankings of the top 101 free agents of 2021 ahead of the new league year, which begins March 17.
No. 101 QB Mitchell Trubisky
No. 100 EDGE Everson Griffen
No. 99 DT Al-Quadin Muhammad
No. 98 CB Chidobe Awuzie (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Awuzie.)
No. 97 EDGE Kerry Hyder
No. 96 WR Breshad Perriman
No. 95 RB James White
No. 94 DT Kawann Short
No. 93 RB James Conner
No. 92 S Kareem Jackson
No. 91 TE Dan Arnold
No. 90 DT Lawrence Guy
No. 89 WR Emmanuel Sanders
No. 88 CB Troy Hill
No. 87 S Malik Hooker
No. 86 EDGE Takkarist McKinley (The Cleveland Browns have reportedly agreed to a deal with McKinley.)
No. 85 G Kyle Long
No. 84 CB Casey Hayward Jr.
No. 83 CB Quinton Dunbar
No. 82 NT Tyson Alualu Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Alualu.)
No. 81 DE Derek Wolfe (Update: The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a three-year deal with Wolfe.)
No. 80 OT Kelvin Beachum (Update: The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a two-year deal with Beachum).
No. 79 RB Marlon Mack
No. 78 CB Bashaud Breeland
No. 77 QB Tyrod Taylor
No. 76 EDGE Aldon Smith
No. 75 DB Desmond King II
No. 74 OT Alejandro Villanueva
No. 73 RB Duke Johnson
No. 72 TE Gerald Everett
No. 71 OT Riley Reiff
No. 70 S Keanu Neal
No. 69 DT Sheldon Rankins
No. 68 WR Cordarrelle Patterson
No. 67 C Austin Reiter
No. 66 S Xavier Woods
No. 65 LB Kyle Van Noy
No. 64 DT Ndamukong Suh
No. 63 DT Larry Ogunjobi
No. 62 CB Patrick Peterson
No. 61 RB Kenyan Drake
No. 60 CB K'Waun Williams
No. 59 S Jaquiski Tartt
No. 58 NT DaQuan Jones
No. 57 CB Janoris Jenkins
No. 56 WR Antonio Brown
No. 55 QB Jacoby Brissett
No. 54 CB Michael Davis (Update: The Los Angeles Chargers have agreed to a multi-year deal with Davis.)
No. 53 CB Xavier Rhodes
No. 52 WR Sammy Watkins
No. 51 CB Richard Sherman
No. 50 DE Denico Autry
No. 49 WR Marvin Jones (Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Jones.)
No. 48 WR John Brown
No. 47 CB Malcolm Butler
No. 46 WR Nelson Agholor (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Agholor.)
No. 45 TE Rob Gronkowski
No. 44 LB K.J. Wright
No. 43 OT Eric Fisher
No. 42 RB Chris Carson
No. 41 EDGE Melvin Ingram
No. 40 CB Mike Hilton (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Hilton.)
No. 39 S Anthony Harris
No. 38 C David Andrews
No. 37 QB Andy Dalton
No. 36 CB Adoree' Jackson
No. 35 EDGE Carlos Dunlap
No. 34 WR T.Y. Hilton
No. 33 CB Ronald Darby (Update: The Denver Broncos have reportedly agreed to a deal with Darby.)
No. 32 CB Jason Verrett
No. 31 LB Jayon Brown
No. 30 EDGE Haason Reddick
No. 29 EDGE Justin Houston
No. 28 C Rodney Hudson
No. 27 DE Shelby Harris (Update: The Denver Broncos have agreed to a three-year deal with Harris.)
No. 26 OT Mitchell Schwartz
No. 25 CB William Jackson (Update: The Washington Football Team has agreed to terms with Jackson.)
No. 24 EDGE Leonard Floyd (Update: The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a four-year deal with Floyd.)
No. 23 S John Johnson (Update: The Cleveland Browns have reportedly agreed to a deal with Johnson.)
No. 22 DL Dalvin Tomlinson (The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a deal with Tomlinson.)
No. 21 WR Corey Davis (Update: The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a deal with Davis.)
No. 20 EDGE Romeo Okwara (Update: The Detroit Lions have signed Okwara to a multi-year deal.)
No. 19 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Update: The Washington Football Team have reportedly agreed to a deal with Fitzpatrick.)
No. 18 CB Shaquill Griffin (Update: The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a deal with Griffin.)
No. 17 TE Hunter Henry (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Henry.)
No. 16 TE Jonnu Smith (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Smith.)
No. 15 WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
No. 14 WR Curtis Samuel
No. 13 QB Jameis Winston (Update: The New Orleans Saints have agreed to a one-year contract with Winston.)
No. 12 WR Will Fuller
No. 11 EDGE Yannick Ngakoue
No. 10 C Corey Linsley
No. 9 EDGE Matt Judon (Update: The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with Judon.)
No. 8 G Joe Thuney
No. 7 EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
No. 6 WR Kenny Golladay
No. 5 EDGE Carl Lawson (Update: The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a deal with Lawson.)
No. 4 EDGE Trey Hendrickson (Update: The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly agreed to a deal with Hendrickson.)
No. 3 EDGE Bud Dupree
No. 2 EDGE Shaquil Barrett (Update: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed Barrett to a multi-year deal.)
No. 1 OT Trent Williams
NFL SETS SALARY CAP
After months of speculation, the 2021 NFL salary cap has been set at $182.5 million.
The new number is down from $198.2 million in 2020 as the league deals with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL had previously set the salary cap floor at $180 million.
Starting Monday, March 15, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2020 player contracts. They cannot sign until the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 17.
On Tuesday, nine players were designated as non-exclusive franchise players around the league, including Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams for the second consecutive year. One player – Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott – was designated as an exclusive franchise player. The signing period for franchise players begins at 4 p.m. on March 17 and ends on the Tuesday following the 10th week of the season.
2021 Franchise Players:
- DT Leonard Williams (Giants)
- OL Taylor Moton (Panthers)
- WR Allen Robinson (Bears)
- QB Dak Prescott* (Cowboys)
- S Justin Simmons (Broncos)
- OL Cam Robinson (Jaguars)
- S Marcus Williams (Saints)
- S Marcus Maye (Jets)
- WR Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)
*Denotes "Exclusive" Franchise Player
NFL FREE AGENCY DESIGNATIONS
Unrestricted free agent (UFA): Any player with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract; free to negotiate and sign with any team.
Restricted free agent (RFA): A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers ("tenders") that come with the right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. If the tender is withdrawn by a team, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent. These amounts change annually.
Exclusive rights free agent (ERFA): Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum (based on his credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.
Accrued seasons: Used to determine a player's free agency status (unrestricted, restricted, exclusive rights). In order to accrue a season, a player must spend six or more regular-season games on a club's active/inactive, reserve/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists.
Non-exclusive franchise tag: A player who receives the non-exclusive franchise tag is free to negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal with a salary set at the greater of (a) the cap percentage average for his position (an amount equal to the sum of the franchise tag figures at a player's position over the previous five seasons divided by the sum of the salary caps over the previous five seasons multiplied by the current year's salary cap) OR (b) 120 percent of his PYS (the player's cap number from the previous season, minus any performance incentives).
Teams that use the non-exclusive franchise tag hold the right of first refusal. If a designated player signs an offer sheet with another team, the player's previous team has five days to match the offer sheet. Should it decide not to, the player's original team shall be entitled to draft-choice compensation equivalent to two first-round picks.
Exclusive franchise tag: A player who receives the exclusive franchise tag cannot negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal for the greater of (a) the average of the five-largest PYS at his position at the conclusion of the restricted free agent signing period of the current league year or (b) the amount of the non-exclusive franchise tag. Last player to receive an exclusive franchise tag: Dak Prescott (with the Cowboys in 2020).
Transition tag: A player who receives the transition tag is free to negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal for the greater of (a) the cap percentage average (calculation as shown above) of the top 10 greatest PYS at the player's position or (b) 120 percent of his own PYS. Should such a player sign an offer sheet with a new team, his former team has five days to match the offer sheet. However, should his former team decide not to match, there is no draft-pick compensation tied to the transition tag. If a transition player has not signed an offer sheet with a new team by July 22, he can only negotiate and sign with his prior team that season. Last player to receive transition tag: Kenyan Drake (with the Cardinals in 2020).
View the players set to become free agents when the new league year begins March 17.
DB Adrian Colbert (UFA)
S Nate Ebner (UFA)
LB Kyler Fackrell (UFA)
OT Cameron Fleming (UFA)
RB Wayne Gallman (UFA)
DT Austin Johnson (Update: The New York Giants have re-signed Johnson)
LS Casey Kreiter (Update: The New York Giants have re-signed Kreiter)
RB Dion Lewis (UFA)
QB Colt McCoy (UFA)
RB Alfred Morris (UFA)
C Spencer Pulley (UFA)
LB Jabaal Sheard (UFA)
DL Dalvin Tomlinson (UFA)
DL Leonard Williams (Update: The New York Giants placed the franchise tag on Williams for the second consecutive year.)
WR C.J. Board (Update: The New York Giants have re-signed Board)
LB Devante Downs (RFA)
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