(NEGOTIATION TIME:
Steve Smith, who is recovering from microfracture left knee surgery, and the Giants spent a second day trying to finalize a deal to bring the receiver back to the Giants. Getty Images)
Steve Smith spent a second day meeting with Giants personnel as the two sides try to finalize a deal to re-sign the valuable yet injured receiver.
Smith yesterday was examined by team doctors, as the Giants want to determine how far along he is from the microfracture left knee surgery that cut short his 2010 season and will cut into his 2011 season. On Dec. 12 in Minnesota, Smith suffered an injury to the articular cartilage in his left knee and following surgery faced an extensive and prolonged rehab, which he underwent in California. The lockout meant the Giants could not keep tabs on Smith, who saw his value on the open market plummet because of the injury.
The Giants know Smith will not be ready to practice before the end of training camp and that he will not be ready to play by the Sept. 11 season opener. They have an offer on the table for Smith, but it remains unsigned.
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There always are ways for teams to find more salary cap room. The Giants did it this summer by restructuring the contracts of a few of their veteran players, trading base salary for paid-up-front bonus money what can be spread out over the length of the entire contract for salary cap bookkeeping purposes.
CB Corey Webster
, scheduled to make $8 million in salary this season, will now make $5 million, with the $3 million paid to him in a bonus. Safety Antrel Rolle
, set to make $5.25 million this season, is down to a base salary of $1.25 million after receiving a $4 million bonus.
The situation is a bit different for RB Brandon Jacobs
, who was asked to restructure his deal. He was on the books for $4.65 million in salary for 2011 but now has a base salary of $2.9 million. He has $2 million in incentives, meaning if he has a strong season he actually can make more than he was supposed to make before the restructuring. The moves put the Giants about $3.5 million under the $120 million cap.
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Rookie OL James Brewer
, carted off the field Monday night, got some good news today. All he has is a bruised right shin, and should be back in a few days.