Giants’ CB Darnay Holmes will take pay cut to stay with team

Holmes takes the Darius Slayton route, and will remain with the Giants

Cornerback Darnay Holmes will take a pay cut to remain with the New York Giants, per a report from Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Holmes, a 2020 fourth-round pick entering the final year of his rookie contract, has a $2.743 million 2023 base salary and a $2.94 million cap hit. According to the NFL minimum salary table, the lowest salary Holmes could play for in 2023 in $1.08 million.

This has been the anticipated outcome for the 25-year-old Holmes, and is a possibility I discussed in my 53-man roster projection.

Holmes has been the Giants’ primary slot cornerback for the last couple of seasons. With the emergence of rookie sixth-round pick Tre Hawkins III, and the Giants’ decision to move Adoree’ Jackson to the slot, Holmes has lost that role.

The Giants, though, need insurance in the slot in the event that Hawkins is not up to the task during the regular season and they want to move Jackson back to the outside. Cor’Dale Flott got reps in the slot early in training camp, but was eventually moved back to the outside.

This is the same situation wide receiver Darius Slayton was in last year, when Proven Performance Escalators bumped up his salary, and the Giants forced him to take a pay cut to remain with the team.