HEADLINES

Tae Crowder

Giants Waive LB Tae Crowder

December 20th, 2022 at 4:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

A 17-game starter last season and a full-time defender to start the 2022 campaign, Tae Crowder is now on the waiver wire. The Giants cut the third-year linebacker Tuesday.

This continues a quick tumble for the former seventh-round success story. The Giants benched Crowder in Week 10 and, after not using him on a single defensive snap in their Week 13 tie with the Commanders, they made him a healthy scratch Sunday night. Crowder’s through-2023 rookie contract is now available to be claimed.

The previous Giants regime made Crowder the Mr. Irrelevant pick in the 2020 virtual draft and turned to him as a starter during his rookie season. After starting six games as a rookie, the Georgia product secured full-time status as an NFL sophomore. Last season, Crowder led the Giants with 130 tackles, intercepted two passes and defensed another six. While that seemingly positioned the off-ball linebacker to be a key piece for Brian Daboll‘s team, he did not end up fitting in under new DC Don Martindale.

The Giants benched Crowder for Jaylon Smith midway through this season. A fifth-round pick this year, Micah McFadden has also moved into a starting role under Martindale. The team re-signed Smith during the season and also brought back Landon Collins, using the former Pro Bowl safety as a linebacker during his second stint.

Collins played in his third game since rejoining the Giants, and the Jerry Reese-era draft choice played 27 defensive snaps in New York’s win over Washington. The Giants have used gameday elevations to promote Collins this season, but this Crowder cut points to the seventh-year veteran having an avenue toward being signed to the team’s 53-man roster.

Big Blue will move forward with its retooled linebacking corps, while Crowder will attempt to catch on elsewhere. He certainly has his detractors. Pro Football Focus rates the 25-year-old defender as the league’s second-worst linebacker, among those with enough snaps to qualify. The advanced metrics site slotted Crowder 86th out of 86 off-ball regulars last season. Considering Crowder’s experience, he certainly should generate attention on the wire. But this year has brought considerable negative momentum.

Giants Promote LB Benardrick McKinney

October 23rd, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Days after joining the Giants’ practice squad, Benardrick McKinney has been promoted to the game-day roster. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the veteran linebacker has been elevated to the active roster and will play on Sunday.

McKinney was traded from the Texans to the Dolphins back in March, but he didn’t end up making it to the 53-man roster. It took a few months, but McKinney finally found his next gig in mid-October when he joined the Giants practice squad.

Now, he’ll have a chance to play after spending less than a week with the organization. Linebacker Tae Crowder, who has started each of New York’s first six games this season, landed on the injury report with a thigh issue. At the very least, McKinney will provide the squad with another option at the position.

When McKinney was at his best, he formed one of the league’s best run-stuffing tandems with Zach Cunningham. He earned Pro Bowl nod in 2018 and racked up 100+ tackles again in 2019. Last year, however, a shoulder injury limited him to just four games.

Giants Activate S Xavier McKinney From IR

November 28th, 2020 at 3:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Second-round rookie Xavier McKinney looks set to make his Giants debut Sunday. The Alabama product is now on New York’s active roster after a Saturday activation from IR.

McKinney suffered a broken foot in August, and the Giants ended Logan Ryan‘s lengthy free agency stay soon after. Both should be in uniform Sunday. The Giants also activated linebacker Tae Crowder from IR.

The Giants have McKinney lined up as a presumptive long-term replacement for Landon Collins, another second-round pick out of Alabama. Ryan is on a one-year contract, and Jabrill Peppers is signed through 2021 on a guaranteed-for-injury-only fifth-year option. Saturday’s move could allow Ryan to play more at cornerback, though McKinney will likely be eased into action.

Despite the Giants cutting 2019 first-round cornerback DeAndre Baker and doing little to address their edge-rushing need this offseason — a deficiency compounded by the team trading Markus Golden in October — Patrick Graham‘s defense has played well, all things considered. The Giants, who remain in playoff contention despite having the NFC’s second-worst record, rank 12th in points allowed this season.

Giants Sign Jabaal Sheard Off Jaguars’ Practice Squad

October 20th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants will bring in a big name through an unusual route. They signed Jabaal Sheard off the Jaguars’ practice squad.

Sheard has 135 games’ and 103 starts’ worth of experience and is a 10th-year veteran. The edge defender caught on with the Jaguars last week, but with the Jags opting not to keep him on their active roster, the Giants completed a poaching operation.

While Jacksonville added Sheard to its active roster and used him in 15 snaps against Detroit, the team promoted Sheard using a 2020-implemented transactional tool that allows for players to revert back to teams’ practice squads after games. Sheard is set to head to New York ahead of the Giants’ Thursday game, though COVID-19 protocols will prevent him from playing against the Eagles.

Sheard, 31, spent the past three seasons as a Colts starter. He racked up 15.5 sacks during those Indianapolis seasons. He has previously played for the Browns and Patriots, collecting a Super Bowl ring with the latter franchise. A plus run defender in the recent past, Sheard has 51.5 career sacks.

The Giants have run into injury trouble at outside linebacker. They have young rushers Oshane Ximines and Lorenzo Carter on IR. Sheard will join Markus Golden and Kyler Fackrell in a now-veteran-heavy edge-rushing corps. Sheard will take the place of linebacker Tae Crowder, whom the Giants placed on IR. The seventh-round rookie’s scoop-and-score sequence helped the Giants win their first game of the season Sunday, but a hamstring injury will shelve this year’s Mr. Irrelevant for at least three games.

Sheard’s move off Jacksonville’s practice squad comes at an interesting time. Because of practice squad offensive lineman K.C. McDermott‘s positive coronavirus test, the Jaguars placed 11 more P-squad players on their reserve/COVID-19 list. Sheard is now gone as well. With new NFL protocols forcing even asymptomatic players to be on the COVID list for at least five days, the Jaguars have a decimated practice squad at present.

Giants Sign Mr. Irrelevant, Tae Crowder

May 7th, 2020 at 6:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The last pick of the 2020 NFL Draft was one of the first to sign. On Thursday, “Mr. Irrelevant” Tae Crowder inked his rookie deal with the Giants, per a club announcement.

Crowder – a 6’3″, 245 pound athlete – came to the University of Georgia as a running back in 2015. Midway through his redshirt frosh season, he switched to linebacker. As time wore on, he got more and more burn with the Bulldogs. Last year, he set a new single-game career high with 12 stops against South Carolina and also managed a 60-yard fumble return against Tennessee. All told last season, he had 62 tackles, four for a loss, and four passes defended.

Towards the end of Day 3, Crowder was at the point where he didn’t expect to hear his name called. He certainly didn’t expect a call from the Giants, who had already taken three other linebackers over the course of the weekend. Even though he was likely to land a deal on the UDFA circuit, it was welcome news, especially since the selection reunited him with former UGA coach Kevin Sherrer, who now serves as the Giants’ outside linebackers coach.

Crowder will look to stay relevant in New York/New Jersey and stick on the 53-man roster as a special teams player. Still, it’s a crowded portion of the depth chart with a dozen linebackers vying for a handful of spots behind Kyler Fackrell, David Mayo, Blake Martinez, and Lorenzo Carter.

Meet Mr. Irrelevant: Giants Select Tae Crowder To Wrap 2020 NFL Draft

April 25th, 2020 at 6:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The 2020 NFL Draft is in the books. With the final pick – No. 225 overall – the Giants selected Georgia linebacker Tae Crowder to wrap up the weekend.

Crowder – a 6’3″, 245 pound athlete – came to campus as a running back in 2015 and switched to linebacker midway through his redshirt freshman season. As time wore on, he got more and more burn with the Bulldogs. Last year, he set a new single-game career high with 12 stops against South Carolina and also managed a 60-yard fumble return against Tennessee.

All told last season he had 62 tackles, four for a loss, and four passes defended. As this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, Crowder will have his name down as a footnote regardless of how his pro career turns out.

Here’s the complete rundown of the Giants’ draft, courtesy of PFR’s draft results tracker:

1-4: Andrew Thomas, T (Georgia)
2-36: Xavier McKinney, S (Alabama)
3-99: Matt Peart, OT (Connecticut)
4-110: Darnay Holmes, CB (UCLA)
5-150: Shane Lemieux, G (Oregon)
6-183: Cameron Brown, LB (Penn State)
7-218: Carter Coughlin, LB (Minnesota)
7-238: T.J. Brunson LB (South Carolina)
7-247: Chris Williamson, CB (Minnesota)
7-255: Tae Crowder, LB (Georgia)