Jonathan Stewart is now set for free agency. The Giants will not pick up their option on the running back, according to a source who spoke with Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (on Twitter). 
Stewart inked a two-year, $6.9MM contract with the Giants last March. After Saquon Barkley was drafted, the plan was for Stewart to serve as a change-of-pace back and sideline mentor to the former Penn State star. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. A foot injury landed Stewart on IR in September and the team decided against activating him from IR after he returned to practice in November.
All told, Stewart played in three games last year and rushed six times for 17 yards. That’s a far cry from his best years in Carolina, including a 2015 Pro Bowl season in which he ran for 989 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per tote.
Stewart will celebrate his 32nd birthday on March 21, putting him at a tricky age for running backs. Still, if Stewart plans to continue playing, he may draw interest in the second and third waves of free agency.
Since Stewart was brought in to be essentially a mention to help Barkley become a professional. Once the Giants saw Barkley had the maturity and skills to be a professional there was no need to keep Stewart.
He did his job and may look to hook on with a team like the Rams (now that CJ Anderson has said he wants to explore free agency) looking for a 5-10 carry per game bruising back.