Jason Pinnock is going to feel like he was away from the Giants for more than one year.
Pinnock is re-signing with the Giants on a one-year contract, The Post confirmed, after spending last season with the 49ers. His contract is expected to count as a Veteran Salary Benefit, meaning he will make the minimum salary for a five-year veteran ($1.215 million) plus $167,500 in additional compensation while a reduced figure counts toward the salary cap under NFL rules.
“Blessed,” Pinnock wrote on X with a (Big) Apple emoji.
Jason Pinnock #25 of the San Francisco 49ers exits the field after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts. Getty Images
A lot has changed since Pinnock, 26, played in 46 games with 37 starts at safety for the 2022-24 Giants, after he was a 2021 draft pick of the Jets as a cornerback.
The Giants replaced Pinnock with Jevon Holland (three years, $45.3 million) in free agency last offseason. Holland and Tyler Nubin, who was a rookie learning from Pinnock in 2024, are the projected starting safeties.
A depth role is available after Dane Belton joined the Jets in free agency, though the Giants also have fellow free agent signing Ar’Darius Washington to compete. Pinnock’s blitzing ability could be a weapon out of the slot.
Most notably, Pinnock is returning to a new regime led by head coach John Harbaugh, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and secondary coach Donald D’Alesio. He has no ties to any of the three.
Giants safety Jason Pinnock reacts after New England Patriots place kicker Chad Ryland missed a field goal during a 2023 game. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Pinnock won a starting job with the 49ers last season but was benched in Week 6. He fought through a heel injury to appear in all 17 games, maintaining reserve and special teams roles late in the year.
Most of the Connecticut native’s career production — 6.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and two interceptions — came during his time with the Giants.
The Giants created $15.1 million of salary-cap space by converting $22.75 million of edge Brian Burns’ 2026 salary into a signing bonus prorated over three seasons for cap purposes, according to Spotrac.com.
It lowered Burns’ salary-cap charge to $21.3 million while raising his charges in 2027 and 2028 to identical figures just north of $44 million.
The mechanism — frequently used by NFL teams and common among the Giants even before Dawn Aponte replaced Kevin Abrams as the cap guru — should not be interpreted as a sign that a big addition is incoming.
The Giants needed to clear operating space just to finalize the free agent agreements that already have been reached. It is likely that another similar contract restructure is coming later this offseason, with Holland, Paulson Adebo, Andrew Thomas and Dexter Lawrence all prime candidates.
The Giants signed safety and core special-teamer Elijah Campbell, who played for the 2020 Jets before spending the last five seasons with the Dolphins.
He averaged 293 special-teams snaps per season from 2022-24 and played about 74 percent of the special teams snaps over the 10 games he was available last season.
Campbell, 31, only has 296 defensive snaps over a six-year career. He ended last season on injured reserve (ankle).