With all the talk about cuts, I started thinking about the other side of the coin: players under contract who aren't in immediate jeopardy. Here's what I came up with:
Offense (10)
QB: E. Manning
RB/FB: D. Wilson, A. Brown, H. Hynoski
WR: H. Nicks, R. Randle*
TE: A. Robinson
OL: D. Baas, C. Snee, J. Brewer
Defense (8)
DL: L. Joseph, J. Pierre-Paul, M. Kiwanuka (DE?), J. Tuck
LB: J. Williams
DB: A. Rolle, P. Amukamara, J. Hosley
Special Teams (2)
S. Weatherford
Z. DeOssie
That's twenty players. As far as I can tell, that's the core of the team. Some other young players like Hill**, Jernigan, Tracy, Mosley, Austin and Herzlich will have ample opportunity to earn playing time, but they aren't cinches to make the team. And many of the pricey veterans listed above (Tuck, Rolle, Snee, Kiwanuka, Baas) must be feeling the heat from the current purge.
The list of safe Giants is very short - shorter than any year since at least 2007, and probably shorter than you would expect for a team coming off three winning seasons that included a championship.
Did I miss anyone?
* Thanks to gmyers400 for catching my brain-fart on Randle.
** Will Hill is something of a special case. On price-vs.-performance, he's a mortal lock to make the final 53, barring injury. But I suspect the kid is on probation for at least another year.
This is going to be a very interesting offseason.
BBI Free Agent Scorecard (sourced from Giants.com for RFAs/EFAs) - ( New Window )
I'm prolly the only guy wondering if Sintim gets a medical check out and tryout?
The situation with ANDRE Brown is trickier. The consensus seems to be that he's restricted, but his three accrued seasons are less clear than Stevie's. He was credited with a season of service in 2009, when he was on IR. He also earned a year in 2012. In 2011, he was on the Giants' practice squad, which doesn't count.
So his status hinges on 2010, when he bounced around the League. I guess he accumulated enough weeks to earn a year of service, without being active for enough games to become ineligible for the practice squad in 2011.
I had forgotten the loophole that would allow 2010 to count toward his accrued service without keeping him off the practice squad in 2011. So I assumed that if he was eligible for the PS in 2011, 2010 must not have counted as a year of service.
I think the moves made today were partially done to free up room for him.
Something is going to happen at TE, even if bennett isn't re-signed (and I think he will be).
I'm prettyy sure Pascoe and Robinson will not be the only TE's.
The Giants control the situation for now, but that might not be the case come free agency.
Denver - 4
Indianapolis - 1
Carolina - 1
Washington - 6
Brown was only active for four games, and never dressed for Carolina or Washington. That enabled him to retain his practice squad eligibility. Ironically, if the Redskins had given him a helmet the last month of the 2010 season, he would have been ineligible for the practice squad in 2011 and his career might very well have been over when the Giants cut him. (Or maybe they would have kept him on the roster instead of Da'Rel Scott. Who knows?)
Anyway, that's the last time I question the BBI roster.
With Stevie Brown and Andre Brown, the tricky part is deciding the tender levels. I assume a second-round tender would be a sufficient deterrent on each, if the Giants think they are worth the $2MM salary.
Anyway, the RFAs other than Cruz are a very small part of the picture, and I was wrong to include Andre on the list of locks.
For me, it's fun to watch Reese tear the team apart and rebuild, all in a few months. It took me a while to get used to this stuff after Simms got cut nineteen years ago. Now I enjoy it, though I'll miss Bradshaw.
2) He hasn't missed a start since joining the team.
#1 reduces the urgency of his situation, as long as they don't need his money for other deals.
#2 distinguishes him from new ex-Giants like Bradshaw, Canty and Boley, as well as potentially-soon-to-be ex-Giants like Phillips and Beatty.
Jerry Reese doesn't have a lot of patience with guys who can't stay on the field. 'Trel might be overpaid, but at least he answers the bell every Sunday to earn his check.
I do like the fact that the team seems to be cutting bait with chronic injuries -- their too disruptive. They're always juggling guys in and out, no one gets settled, and you're constantly fielding second-tier guys because their subbing for the injured starter. The games lost is just not compensated by the talent when healthy.
I'd have to think KP is the next on the block. His knee will never get better and always require managing.