The Giants have approached guard Chris Snee and center David Baas about taking pay cuts, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. New York is interested in keeping both players for the 2014 season, but the combined cap numbers for the duo total nearly $20MM, which is untenable for the club.
As we passed along yesterday, Snee has decided not to retire, and hopes to play at least one more season for the Giants, the team with which he has spent his entire career. The longtime right guard, who is coming off hip and elbow surgery, expressed an openness to discussing a pay cut, which would reduce his $6.75MM base salary. Taking into account bonus money, Snee’s cap number for 2014 currently sits at $11.3MM, meaning the team could clear nearly $7MM by releasing him. As such, working out a new agreement is likely in the best interests of both sides.
Baas’ case isn’t as clear, however. The Giants center, who also missed most of the 2013 season with knee issues, still has two years remaining on his contract, so cutting him this season would accelerate additional money onto the team’s 2014 cap. New York could create a little cap flexibility by cutting Baas and his $8.225MM cap number, but $6.45MM in dead money would remain on the ’14 cap, so the savings would be minimal. We’ll have to see if Baas is interested in remaining in New York and willing to reduce a 2014 base salary of $4.75MM.
If these guys stayed healthy they would be solid linemen for the Giants or any other team if they get cut.
Snee has clearly seen his best days in blue gone. His play has declined for years. Baas, it’s hard to tell with his knee issues if he’s going to be any better than mediocre, which is his best days since joining the Giants. He’s been a lackluster FA compared to his days in SF. He became a shell of himself from SF pretty quickly, sadly. Everyone, including myself, thought he’d be A LOT better than he’s been