For all you salary-cap watchers, here’s the deal. The signings of quarterback David Carr to a one-year, $1 million and linebacker Danny Clark to two years, $4 million yesterday should leave the Giants between $8 and $9 million under the salary cap, considering they started the day at $11.1 under.

Sounds pretty comfy, right? Plenty of room for more free agents to join the Super Bowl winning troops, right? Plenty of room to squeeze, oh, say a trade and contract re-do for Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall in there, right?

Ehhhh. Not so fast.

Watch how fast $9 million goes out the window.

Figure the rookie salary cap, which comes out of the main cap, goes about $4 million for the Giants (it varies among teams based on number of picks, number of first rounders, etc.). Now take off about $3 million more, as a conservative estimate, for the redone contracts Jerry Reese will have to give Plaxico Burress, Chris Snee, and Michael Strahan as Super Bowl rewards. And also consider that, even though he just signed a new deal and really doesn’t need tinkering—nor deserve it—Osi Umenyiora might just get a bump, too.

Let’s say that brings it down to, oh, $1.5 million. Now, you’ll always need room in case the injury bug hits. That’s why Reese will save at least that much cushion for the season.

So, judging by that math—and believe me, there’s a good chance it’s wrong because I can’t even help a sixth-grader with her algebra—there’s really no room for any more free agent transactions unless Reese starts cutting players. I get the feeling he really doesn’t want to do that, though, because if he did he’d have done it before free agency started. I think a guy like R.W. McQuarters, rumored to be on his way out, is safe, at least for now.

You might also have read where Kevin Dockery and Michael Johnson got an extra $198,000 and $215,000 for their efforts last year. But that’s not counted against the cap because it came out of the NFL’s fund for performance-based pay, enabling low-salaried guys to boost their paychecks on the basis of the number of downs they played. Therefore, the Giants are still about $1.5 million under the cap.

Not that there’s a lot left out there worth signing. As you can see, Reese’s last two signings were designed for depth, not starting spots. Only safety Sammy Knight, signed at an economical $1.15 million cap figure, should appear in the starting lineup if health prevails in training camp.

Of course, teams can always add if they cut, so the trade for DeAngelo Hall is still a possibility. But certainly not at the pay level he wants. For the Giants to pull that one off and keep their roster fairly intact, Hall would have to come way, way down, and that’s not going to happen yet. I don’t think this trade will ever happen, but you never know.

Either way, don’t look for a lot more activity on the free agent front, unless there’s a player or two you’d rather see elsewhere. Because cutting is about what it will take to fit any new additions and accommodate the guys who are already here.

Ciao for now.