Giants cornerback Valentino Blake‘s NFL future could be in question. Blake did not participate in practice Wednesday for undisclosed reasons and was then designated as “left squad,” and the Giants were given a roster exemption as a result, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com.
Blake dealt with a back injury earlier this summer, but he has seemingly moved past that, having played a team-high 45 snaps in the Giants’ preseason game against the Browns on Monday.
The Giants signed the 27-year-old Blake in March, after he proved to be a durable defender for the Jaguars, Steelers and Titans over the first five seasons of his career. Blake, who has appeared in 78 of 80 regular-season games since going undrafted in 2012, logged his third straight 16-game campaign last year with the Titans, though Pro Football Focus graded his performance an underwhelming 76th among 110 qualified corners.
New York will continue to boast a top corner trio of Janoris Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Eli Apple without Blake, but he’s its most proven option behind those three. The Giants’ other corners – Michael Hunter, DaShaun Amos, Nigel Tribune and Donte Deayon – have combined to play in just two NFL games. All of that experience belongs to Hunter, who has a mere 17 defensive snaps under his belt and is now battling a concussion.