GM Joe Schoen turns attention to rest of offseason to-do-list

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Joe Schoen can now turn his attention to the Giants’ numerous other items on his offseason to-do list.

With Daniel Jones signed to a four-year contract and Saquon Barkley receiving the franchise tag, the Giants general manager will begin work on securing free agents and diving deeper into the NFL Draft.

One of his first tasks will be to reconnect with Barkley, who can sign a long-term contract until July 17. That would benefit both sides – a higher salary for Barkley, more cap space for the Giants.

“I haven’t talked in-depth with Saquon yet. I’m going to talk to him today,” Schoen said. “That’s negotiations. We had some deals out there, and we tried to get a deal done with him and his representatives. And we couldn’t. I think both parties knew at the end of the day that this was an option, and if he’s frustrated, I can understand some of that. We could be frustrated as well that we weren’t able to get a deal done. I love Saquon. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a part of this team going forward. We’ll see where it goes from here.

“We’ll see what happens with Saquon. The franchise number is just over $10 (million). If you extend him, and there’s a signing bonus involved, you can free up more cap space.”

The Giants’ free agents include safety Julian Love; wide receivers Richie James, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard; offensive linemen Jon Feliciano and Nick Gates; linebacker Jihad Ward; punter Jamie Gillan; and long snapper Casey Kreiter.

“We’re going to start reaching out to the agents today, kind of seeing where they are, where we are,” Schoen said. “We’re going to see if we can get something done before Wednesday, when the new league year starts. We’ll be in constant communication with those guys in the next few days.”

Schoen will also consider a new deal for Dexter Lawrence, who is entering his fifth season.

“Dexter Lawrence is a guy we’ve started talking with his representatives,” Schoen said. “He’s on the fifth-year option. You can lower that number with a signing bonus. So, the signing bonus allows you to spread the money over the length of the contract up to five years, and that’s how you’re able to lower the yearly amount that counts against the cap.”

Schoen will also consider a restructuring of Leonard Williams’ contract.

“Those are ongoing conversations,” Schoen said today. “We got back from the Combine late Sunday night. Athletes First (Jones’ representatives) was here on Monday. The meetings that I’ve had this morning…