What do you think of the Giants releasing Brandon Jacobs?
Brandon Jacobs wasn’t willing to “sell my soul” to stay with the Giants. Now he’ll get to sell his services to someone else.
The big, veteran running back was officially released by the Giants Friday afternoon, according to multiple NFL sources, after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new contract. The 29-year-old Jacobs would’ve had to accept a massive pay cut for the second time in seven months to remain with the Super Bowl champions – something he had made it clear he was unwilling to do.
Once that was clear, the Giants had little choice but to cut him after a disappointing season in which he gained just 571 yards on 3.8 yards per carry. He was due a $500,000 roster bonus on March 17 and $4.4 million in salary in 2012. His $7 million salary cap number was too much for a cap-strapped team to spend on a backup running back who appeared to be in decline.
It appears the two sides did at least try to work out a deal, but according to a source the cut the Giants were seeking was bigger than Jacobs expected. He may have been willing to slice his salary in half, the source said, but the team wanted a bigger cut than that. Jacobs also was only willing to take a cut that big if he got something in return, like guaranteed money and an extra year or two on his deal.
That’s something the Giants were apparently not willing to do.
And so their often turbulent marriage ended after what really was a bonus season. Back in August, Jacobs was nearly released by the Giants, but at the last minute agreed to cut $1.75 million off his salary. He almost immediately began talking as if he knew last season would be his final one with the team.
He began to change his tune late in Super Bowl week, though, when he said he thought the two sides would eventually be able to reach an agreement. Once the talks began, though, made it clear that any deal would have to be “fair” to him and eventually that he wouldn’t “sell my soul” to stay.
In seven seasons with the Giants, Jacobs – a fourth round pick in the 2005 draft out of Southern Illinois – ran for 4,849 yards and a franchise-record 56 touchdowns. He was a powerful runner for them, using his 6-4, 264-pound frame as a battering ram on opposing defenses. He was at his best when paired with a smaller, shiftier back like first Tiki Barber, and later Ahmad Bradshaw.
Jacobs even topped 1,000 yards in both 2007 and 2008, but knee and other injuries took their toll over time, and eventually Jacobs lost his starting job Bradshaw. He sulked at first when given the backup role at the start of training camp in 2010 and often got more attention for his mouth and antics than he did for his running.
In that 2010 season Jacobs drew two major fines -- $10,000 for throwing his helmet into the stands in Indianapolis and $20,000 for directing some obscene gestures and words towards Eagles fan after a game in Philadelphia. Perhaps his most famous non-football incident came after the Giants’ win over the Jets on Christmas Eve in December when he got into a shouting match with Jets coach Rex Ryan and told him, among other things, “It’s time to shut up, fat boy.”
With Jacobs gone, the Giants are left with Bradshaw, D.J. Ware, and Da’Rel Scott, a promising seventh-round pick from the 2011 draft. Bradshaw has had feet and ankle problems throughout his career, and recently needed an injection to help him in his recovery from the most recent stress fracture in his foot.
Given Bradshaw’s health issues, the Giants almost certainly will either pursue another running back in free agency or in the draft. Cutting Jacobs clears $5 million for the Giants against the 2012 cap. Combined with the $6.8 million they saved by restructuring Eli Manning’s contract on Thursday, it is believed they are now under the projected cap for this season.
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