The 2-7 New York Giants made the unusual move of releasing a starting cornerback, cutting Nick McCloud and elevating Art Green from the practice squad this week.
McCloud, a fourth-year player out of Notre Dame, had started five of his seven games this season, including each of the past two weeks. However, he played in only nine defensive snaps in Sunday’s loss to Washington after logging 50 the previous week.
“Got a lot of respect for Nick, but that’s a decision that we made,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said when asked how it helped the team to cut McCloud rather than keep him as a reserve. “Bring Art up and he’s kind of going to do some of those roles.
“(Green)’s been doing a good job. Going to give him an opportunity at gunner. Some (defensive back) stuff, kind of fourth, fifth DB. He’s done a good job since he’s been here. So, that’s what we did.”
McCloud, 26, saw action in two games as an undrafted rookie with Cincinnati in 2021. He then appeared in 31 games over the past two seasons for the Giants, combining for 71 tackles with 1.5 sacks and one interception from 2022-23.
However, he has graded out as the 104th-best of 110 cornerbacks evaluated by Pro Football Focus this season.
McCloud had a one-year, $2.985 million contract and was recently approached by the salary cap-strapped team about taking a pay cut, according to the New York Post.
Daboll was asked if he was concerned about the message it might send to the locker room when a 2-7 team cuts ties with a starting player in a move reported to be financially motivated.
“I would just say that that’s a decision that we made and Art’s going to have an opportunity to do that,” Daboll said. “There’s a lot of changes on a weekly basis in the NFL and I think everybody that’s involved in it understands.”
The Giants also re-signed punter Matt Haack to the practice squad along with offensive lineman Bryan Hudson. Haack had been released Tuesday with Jamie Gillan returning from a hamstring injury.
New York is heading to Munich on Thursday to face the 2-7 Carolina Panthers this Sunday. Daboll said the decision had not been made yet whether wide receiver Darius Slayton will travel with the team as he goes through the concussion protocol.
