The Giants have cut bait with one of their offseason signings. Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that New York has released offensive lineman Patrick Omameh. The team has promoted receiver/returner Quadree Henderson from the practice squad to take the open roster spot.
After having spent the previous two seasons with the Jaguars, Omameh inked a three-year, $15MM contract with the Giants during the offseason. The 28-year-old proceeded to start six of his seven games this season, but he’s disappointed during his stints in the lineup. Pro Football Focus ranks the Michigan product 61st out of 75 eligible guards. Today’s move will leave the Giants with $3.5 million in dead money on next year’s cap.
Omameh’s roster spot was clearly in jeopardy, especially after he was benched in favor of veteran John Greco. The team also recently brought in former Rams guard Jamon Brown, and he’s expected to slide into the starting lineup for Monday’s game against the 49ers. The Giants will presumably roll with Brian Mihalik and Evan Brown as their two reserve linemen.
Henderson, an undrafted rookie out of Pittsburgh, spent the entire preseason with the Steelers. He had a brief stint with the Giants earlier this season, returning five kicks (for 112 yards) and six punts (for 47 yards) in two games.
While I’m pleased he was cut from the team, what I cannot understand is why his performance deteriorated so much after he joined the Giants. I mean he was far from great with Jacksonville, don’t get me wrong, but I seriously doubt he would gave gotten a 3 yr deal if he was that bad with the Jaguars. The Giants o-line coach reminds me of the Yankees pitching coach; nobody ever gets any better under their instruction.
I have to agree, while I’m leased he was cut and some of his salary will come off the books next year, I think I can answer your question as to why he recieved a 3 year $15M deal. It’s the same reason Jonathan Stewart recieved a 2 year deal from GM Gettleman. Our new GM was the old GM of Carolina and was simply handing out contracts to players past their prime and thinking they would bring in character and grit. Trouble is both players were not worth anything near what they signed for. Other teams saw it and it’s a mystery why our GM didn’t? He either overestimated what they had left or was thinking they could be the veteran presence that would lead the team deep into the playoffs.
Either way he was horrible. Thought that after Flowers was waived he would play better because it was possible he was covering for Flowers mistakes and shortcomings, but turned out he was just bad.
But why not hold him at this point to not take the dead cap hit? Not surprised by Omameh as I read when they first signed him PFF graded him really poorly out the guards. This new Giant brass looks worse by the day. I saw JPP, Kennard, and Okwara have a lot of sacks for their respective teams. Releasing and or trading offensive lineman because they thought hey had depth or were busts just looks bad. The free agent signings have been horrible on both sides of the ball. They also had a chance to move more players at the deadline. It’s not like their draft capital is that great. They don’t even have a 3rd round pick. All I read is how Davis Webb can be a QB in this league and no one prepares harder than him. Carl Banks said he used to show up to meetings and practice before Eli did. And now Lauletta gets in trouble with the law because he was late for practice. This team and organization is a mess, and worse than he previous brass. The comment above how Getty signed and overpaid for players past their prime just for locker room presence. I think you can say the same thing about Mara signing Gettleman.