In a surprising move, the New York Giants announced the release of offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler.
The move comes as a surprise with the team already thin on the offensive line. Moreover, this is concerning for fans still wondering if quarterback Daniel Jones is the answer for Big Blue.
Jones is entering his third NFL season, for young quarterbacks it’s a pivotal year. However, a strong offensive line is something Jones has been missing since taking over from Eli Manning.
Zeitler graded out as the team’s most consistent lineman in 2020. The decision to part ways with Zeitler comes a day after general manager Dave Gettleman answered questions about the offensive line, specifically their youth.
One day after Dave Gettleman discussed the youth on the Giants’ offensive line, the team parted ways with the oldest member of that position group in 2020.
Kevin Zeitler, who turned 31 on Monday, was released today, one week before the start of the new NFL business year and free agency.
With Zeitler’s release, it appears the Giants are focusing on the youth of their offensive line. They’re also looking at their payroll.
Like, the rest of the league presently, the Giants are number-crunching their salary cap. Zeitler’s release creates $12 million in cap relief for New York.
32-year old offensive tackle Nate Solder is returning this season after sitting out 2020. But the Giants now have a huge question mark at the guard position.
“Our offensive line is, they’re young and they’re talented. Things take time. I said it earlier, things take time. We believe in these guys, they all came along, we finished the season fairly strong,” Gettleman told reporters.
With Gettleman emphasizing youth, the door could be open again for 25-year old Will Hernandez as a starter at guard.
Gettleman, meanwhile, continues to praise his quarterback.
“We’ve had Daniel for two years; we’ve done the evaluation on him and we really believe he’s the guy. No reason to go look,” Gettleman said, when asked if he was tempted to look at other options for the quarterback position. “What we’re doing isn’t fantasy football, we’re not playing, we’re not doing that. We’ve got a conviction on him, he’s everything we want, he’s got all the physical skills and again I say this all the time, the kid just finished his second year of NFL football. How many of us after two years at our new job were great? No, we all start at point ‘A’ and we hopefully get to point ‘Z,’ but the one common denominator is it takes time. Everybody has to understand that. We believe in Daniel and that’s where it is.”
It does indeed take time, it also takes a strong offensive line. Jones still needs to prove he’s the answer at quarterback. Weakening his protection won’t help his progression.
It’s still early in the offseason and Gettleman will make additional moves before it’s over. The decision, however, to cut the team’s most consistent offensive lineman should rightfully be questioned.
Especially when you’re trying to evaluate the most important position on the field, the quarterback.
Image: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Image: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
