Giants should send message by cutting Ereck Flowers

The New York Giants are trying to get their program going in the right direction, and cutting Ereck Flowers would be a good way to start.

In the 2015 NFL Draft, the Giants selected Ereck Flowers with the ninth-overall pick. Flowers was supposed to be the answer at left tackle for the next dozen years. Instead, he has become both an on-field bust and off-field distraction.

With new head coach Pat Shurmur in the building, the Giants should move on from Flowers and save themselves both the poor play and continuing headache. After dealing with dramas that involved Odell Beckham Jr. and Eli Apple over the past 12 months, general manager Dave Gettleman has to start lightening the baggage on board New York’s ship, starting with its worst starter.

Flowers, 24, didn’t bother to show up at the start of voluntary OTAs before arriving this week. All this on the heels of star safety Landon Collins saying Flowers has been unresponsive to his texts and that the former top-10 pick is angry with management for signing left tackle Nate Solder.

Should Gettleman decide to cut ties with Flowers — who the team already declined the fifth-year option on — the Giants would net nothing financially, but that’s beyond the point. Flowers is a zero on the field and because of it, is virtually untradable. Reports say the franchise tried to move him prior to the draft but couldn’t find a taker for his perceived value. Gettleman ought to take on more go-round, and if nothing comes up, move on.

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For New York, the dead money would be $4.579 million but would only last through this season. Basically, the Giants are getting nothing for the money whether or not you keep him barring a miraculous turnaround. By releasing him, a statement is made to the rest of the locker room, something more valuable than Flowers’ expected level of play.