Tuesday, November 5, at 4 p.m. Eastern marks the NFL trade deadline, and teams are scurrying to make their moves. As it turns out, the New York Giants have made a surprise move that very few saw coming.
According to a report from Jordan Ranaan of ESPN, the team is releasing veteran cornerback and special teamer Nick McCloud.
New York Giants Release Veteran Player
The Giants are releasing CB Nick McCloud, per source. Started 5 games this season + good special teams player (gunner).
Giants came to McCloud during the season trying to get him to take pay cut. Before a game he started.
McCloud was playing on 1-yr, $3 million deal as a RFA.
McCloud played in seven games with five starts this season. He had 14 tackles, one for loss, and a pass defensed. His passer rating this season was 146.5.
According to Ranaan, the Giants had requested McCloud to take a pay cut from his one-year, $2.985-million contract. McCloud refused a pay cut, Ranaan noted.
McCloud came to the Giants ahead of the 2022 season after being waived by the Buffalo Bills. He’s played in 38 games for the Giants and had a total of 16 starts.
Some Believe the Move ‘Made Sense for New York’
Some NFL analysts and experts think releasing McCloud was the right move while others are questioning it.
Dylan Backer of Empire Sports Media notes in a November 5 piece, “McCloud was impactful on special teams, playing 116 snaps in that department. However, New York needs to prioritize fixing the secondary, and given that McCloud was playing on a $3 million deal, it made sense for New York to move on.”
He added that the Giants “will now have a cornerback room of Banks, Cor’Dale Flott, Adoree’ Jackson, and Dru Phillips.”
Ed Valentine of Big Blue View noted in a November 5 feature, “McCloud had seemingly always been considered a useful defender, but not one the Giants wanted to use as a weekly starter. The Giants have cornerbacks Art Green and Greg Stroman on their practice squad. Stroman, a seven-year veteran, was activated for the Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played well in that game, getting most of his playing time after Deonte Banks was benched.”
Back in August, McCloud talked about trying to “win” the job of being a Giants starter.
“I don’t think I’m just trying to take this opportunity to go win a job. Every time I step on the practice field, I’m trying to win a job,” he said on August 12 per Michael Eisen, senior writer and editor at Giants.com. “Whatever reps that I get, those are valuable reps. I went from last year, I didn’t get any reps with the ones and the twos, really. Now I’m getting some reps. I just take every opportunity at practice, game, whatever it may be, just try to maximize that.”
He added, “Really just going back to my roots. Three-star recruit out of high school. I really didn’t get much love coming out of high school. Just going through the stuff I went through in college, staying five years (four at North Carolina State, one at Notre Dame). And then obviously being undrafted. It’s not really hard for me to wake up with a chip on my shoulder. But I feel like I’m moving past that point of just trying to prove people wrong. Now I’m to the point to where the people who are in my corner, I’m just going to try to prove them right. So that’s just how I feel about that.”
