There are years when the Giants have money to spend, specific needs to address and hit free agency hard with a quick first strike — not necessarily landing the marquee player, but adding a starter to energize their fan base.
This is not going to be one of those years. If, in the next few days, the Giants are able to sign guard Kevin Boothe and tight end Martellus Bennett — two of their own unrestricted free agents — and finally come to terms with receiver Victor Cruz — a restricted free agent — it will feel like status quo, but actually will be viewed by the Giants hierarchy as an achievement.
The Giants head into free agency about $10 million under the salary cap, but they will need most of that just to tender Cruz and their other two restricted players, safety Stevie Brown and running back Andre Brown. There is a firm budget in place, and the Giants won’t reach to sign anyone.
Teams already are involved in the legal tampering window, as at midnight yesterday they could begin negotiating with agents of unrestricted free agents — although teams cannot have any direct contact with players or sign anyone until 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The Giants already made what is expected to be their biggest unrestricted free agent splash, re-signing left tackle Will Beatty to a five-year, $38.75 million contract.
They would like to secure Cruz with a long-term deal, but Cruz is a restricted free agent and if a deal isn’t reached it’s likely he will be left to play in 2013 for the first-round tender of $2.9 million.
Cruz won’t be happy with that, though, and the Giants do want to secure the popular receiver with a multi-year deal.
Plus, there’s a caveat attached to allowing Cruz to test the open market. Opportunities for restricted players the past few years have been negligible, but Cruz is so young and productive that some team out there is sure to take at least a nibble.
In order to have a fighting chance to be somewhat competitive on the open market, the Giants needed all sorts of maneuverings to clear sufficient salary cap space. They cut Ahmad Bradshaw, Chris Canty and Michael Boley, slashed by nearly half the salary of cornerback Corey Webster and re-structured the contracts of Mathias Kiwanuka and David Baas for some salary-cap relief.
“You just try to keep as many good players as you can on your roster and keep your nucleus intact,’’ general manager Jerry Reese said. “I can’t speak for anybody else. Obviously, when your salary cap has been pretty flat for three or four years in a row, it’s tough to keep a high number of high salaries.’’
It is highly likely and even expected that some longtime Giants will find more money elsewhere. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora after 10 years is expected to find a new football home. Safety Kenny Phillips probably has played his last game for the team that made him a 2008 first-round pick. Lawrence Tynes nailed the winning field goal in overtime in two NFC title games, but he is 34.
It seems as if the Giants want to get younger, already having signed former Cowboys kicker David Buehler. Chase Blackburn, the starting middle linebacker, will return only if he cannot find another team willing to make a commitment to him for more than one year. Backup quarterback David Carr wants to see if he can find a team that will allow him to compete for a starting job.
paul.schwartz@nypost.com
PRIORITY POSITIONS
OFFENSIVE LINE
Left guard Kevin Boothe started every game last season and isn’t a star, but he’s smart and steady and needs to be re-signed. With him, there still the is need to bolster right tackle. Without Boothe, a starting guard with experience is essential.
LINEBACKER
The desire is to get more athletic on the inside to strengthen what was a pathetic run defense, which is why Chase Blackburn wasn’t offered much. Keith Rivers probably won’t be back. Former Bengal Rey Maualuga is available, but this could be a draft issue.
TIGHT END
If Martellus Bennett isn’t re-signed, a starting-caliber player is needed to augment incumbents Bear Pascoe and Adrien Robinson. Anthony Fasano could be an option. Historically, this is not a spot where the Giants spend big.