Veteran cornerback Valentino Blake has decided to retire, according to Dan Duggan of NJ.com (Twitter link).
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New York designated Blake as “left squad” at the end of last month after the veteran defensive back left the team for a personal reason. It’s still unclear as to what exactly Blake — who was formerly known by the first name “Antwon” — was dealing with, but it’s possible he was simply contemplating the end of his career.
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.
With Blake out of the picture, the Giants picked up extra cornerback depth on Saturday, acquiring Ross Cockrell from the Steelers in exchange for a conditional 2018 draft pick.
Was he always Valentino? For the life of me I don’t remember a Valentino on the Steelers.
Never mind he is the cornerback formerly known as Antwon.
He didn’t change his name until last season when he was with the Titans.
I thought the same thing! Haha