At noon on March 9 (ET), the ny giants enter a negotiating window that allows contact and contract talks with certified agents for players set to become unrestricted free agents, but no one can sign a new deal until 4 p. m. ET on March 11—an important procedural gap that can reshape expectations as quickly as rumors form.
What changes at noon (ET), and what still cannot happen until March 11?
NFL clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents beginning at noon on March 9 (ET). The signing period officially begins at 4 p. m. ET on March 11, and no player is permitted to execute a contract with a new club before that time. That sequencing matters: public chatter can surge during negotiations, while legally binding outcomes must wait until the signing period opens.
In parallel, teams were informed recently that the 2026 salary cap has been set at $301. 2 million per club. The figure is a record and represents a $22 million increase over last year. The cap number sets the macro constraints for the market, even as individual decisions for the ny giants depend on who stays, who goes, and what prices emerge once negotiations begin.
Where do the Ny Giants stand: pending free agents and a tracker built for rapid updates
The Giants’ free agency tracker outlines the club’s pending free agents across standard categories: Unrestricted Free Agents, Restricted Free Agents, and Exclusive Rights Free Agents. Unrestricted free agents are defined as players with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract who are free to negotiate and sign with any team. Restricted free agents have three accrued seasons and an expired contract; they can negotiate and sign with any team, but the original team can offer qualifying tenders that carry right-of-first-refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. Exclusive rights free agents have fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract; if the original team offers a one-year contract at the league minimum (based on credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.
One player detailed in the tracker is Gunner Olszewski, who appeared in 16 games last season and primarily played on special teams. He returned 24 punts for 216 yards (9. 0 average) and 26 kickoffs for 682 yards (26. 2 average). In limited snaps on offense, he had 10 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown, and he threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Jameis Winston on a trick play against the Lions. The tracker also notes that after heading into the 2025 season finale with 17 career receptions for 223 yards, Olszewski caught eight passes for 102 yards in the Week 18 win over the Cowboys.
The tracker includes additional background: Olszewski was brought back during training camp last year after spending the entire 2024 campaign on injured reserve. He played 10 games with the Giants in 2023 and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his 94-yard punt return touchdown in Week 17—described as the second-longest punt return in Giants history and the longest in 95 years. The tracker also recounts that he began his career as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots, earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2020 after leading the NFL with a 17. 3-yard punt return average, then joined the Pittsburgh Steelers before arriving with the Giants midseason.
The same tracker describes offensive tackle Hudson, who signed as a free agent a year ago and appeared in 11 games with two starts at left tackle at the beginning of his first and only season with the Giants. Hudson, a former fourth-round draft choice by the Browns in 2021, has played in 60 career games with 19 starts and missed the majority of the 2024 season after a shoulder injury.
In a separate roster note, the Giants released linebacker Bobby Okereke, who was voted a captain in each of his three seasons with the franchise. Okereke, originally a third-round pick by the Colts in 2019, signed with the Giants as a free agent in 2023 and started all but five games during his tenure with New York.
Rumor pressure points: expensive linemen, cornerback needs, and a market built on price
As the negotiating window nears, one thread of discussion has centered on center Tyler Linderbaum, with the possibility described as becoming more remote due to projected cost. The context presented compares the league’s current highest-paid center, Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs, at $18 million per year, while Linderbaum is expected to command a market-resetting offer of $20 million or more annually. Columnist Gary Myers characterized Linderbaum as “going to be much too expensive” for the Giants, and Ian O’Connor said “don’t expect the Giants to spend big” on Linderbaum while hinting at a volume approach—framing it as a roster with “too many holes to fill” to concentrate spending on one star.
There is also an external projection about destination: NFL insider Jordan Schultz indicated Linderbaum could be headed to the Washington Commanders if he does not return to the Ravens. While negotiations can change dynamics, the core tension for the ny giants is clear inside this framing: premium pricing at one position can crowd out broader roster-building.
At cornerback, the context points to Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean as a player connected to the Giants in a set of proposed landing spots, and it notes that the Giants need cornerback help, particularly if they do not re-sign Cor’Dale Flott. A separate projection describes a three-year, $54 million contract for Dean and includes an evaluation that he has size and speed but has struggled with injuries across multiple seasons, listing missed time tied to foot, back, hamstring, knee, and hip flexor issues in different years.
On Travis Kelce, the context notes that the idea of Taylor Swift influencing a move to New York has been floated, while also presenting a view that Kelce is predicted to stay with the Chiefs if he does not retire.
The internal priority question: retain key pieces or chase headline names?
Beyond external targets, the same context highlights uncertainty around players on the Giants’ own roster. It states that wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson seems headed elsewhere, with a reunion with Brian Daboll in Tennessee described as a strong possibility. It also describes Flott’s market as tough to figure, along with the Giants’ true interest in keeping him.
One player singled out as a priority is right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. The context states that “everyone seems to agree the Giants really want back” Eluemunor, while also emphasizing that he “won’t take a discount” to stay in New York, citing his comment: “I believe I’m the best right tackle in the league, and my film proves it. ” Another projection places Eluemunor in Tennessee with Daboll and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, but the same context pushes back on that fit by noting Eluemunor does not want to move to guard and questioning a scenario in which the Titans would move 2024 first-round pick JC Latham from right tackle to guard to accommodate him.
The push and pull between retention and outside pursuits is sharpened by the timing: talks can begin at noon on March 9 (ET), but binding signatures wait until 4 p. m. ET on March 11. For the ny giants, that means two days where priorities, prices, and leverage can shift before any contract becomes official.
As the 2026 salary cap hits a record $301. 2 million and the negotiating window opens, the ny giants face a familiar test: balancing the urgency of needs—offensive line and cornerback among them—against the market’s price tags, with clarity only arriving when negotiations turn into signed deals at 4 p. m. ET on March 11.
