The New York Giants are wasting no time clearing cap room for the 2017 NFL season, releasing two of their veteran starters on Monday.
Victor Cruz was beloved by New York Giants fans during his seven seasons with the team, but the 2017 NFL season will be the start of the newest chapter of his career. The Giants released the veteran wide receiver to clear some cap room, which means he will be salsa dancing for another team next season. Cruz won a Super Bowl with the Giants, was a fan favorite due to the fact he was from New Jersey and really came out of nowhere to be a global sensation.
Also being cut by the Giants on Monday was starting running back Rashad Jennings, who spent three seasons with the team. Coming to New York from Oakland, Jennings did not live up the high expectations when the Giants signed him, failing to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. The two moves by the Giants will save the team $10 million in cap space, as they look to make a run at free agent defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.
LeSean McCoy has never been one to hold his tounge, and on Monday, he led Pro Football Focus know what he thinks of them. The website did not list McCoy as one of their top-101 players of 2016, leading to McCoy calling them a bunch of nerds. McCoy actually was extremely productive for the Buffalo Bills this past season, racking up well over 1,500 yards from scrimmage while scoring 14 times.
Wednesday marks the beginning of the NFL’s franchise tag period, which means some big names are going to be locked up for the 2017 NFL season. Last year, Kirk Cousins played on a franchise tag for the Washington Redskins, earning a big payday along the way. Teams have two weeks to tag players, and once the player is tagged, the organization will have until July to either sign them to a long-term deal, or pay them big bucks for the 2017 season.
Next: NFL Power Rankings: 30 Best Coaches of All-Time
Finally, some sad news out of the NFL. Former Miami Dolphins defensive end Quentin Moses was killed in a house fire on Sunday. The former University of Georgia star died in the blaze along with a woman and her child. Moses had spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach for Reinhardt University. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family during this trying time.