Giants general manager Joe Schoen cut linebacker Blake Martinez Thursday, hours after saying “we like the guys that are here, the 53 players that are on the roster.”
Schoen later said he couldn’t rule out anything that would improve the team when asked about wide receiver Darius Slayton, who he said would “be on the team in Week 1.”
“Right now, 53 today, I’m not going to say week 1 on any of these guys,” Schoen said. “You never know what will happen. But we love our 53 right now. We will move forward with our 53.
“If there are opportunities available that we need to pursue, we will, whether it’s Darius or anyone else,” Schoen said. “Everyone is competing daily for their position because we want the top 53.”
Martinez, 28, was not a favorite under new defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale, sources say. The staff did not see it as an adjustment in the plan.
They played him 26 snaps in the preseason finale against the Jets when many starters sat out.
He was also linked to the previous regime of Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge, as was security Logan Ryan, who was released in March. Martinez captained twice in his only two seasons in New York under Judge.
Martinez was absent from Wednesday’s practice for unspecified personal reasons. It’s unclear what this has to do with his release, if any.
It’s possible Martinez and the Giants mutually agreed it wasn’t a game. And perhaps the particular moment was due to the organization treading carefully around a respected veteran.
But Martinez certainly wasn’t acting Thursday like a player expecting to be released. He practiced and was the first player to greet the media in the Giants locker room.
“Happy to see you again!” he said with a smile. Then he joked, “Someone messed up my locker.”
The Giants save a negligible amount of salary cap space with this move. It was not financially motivated.
Schoen actually guaranteed Martinez $2 million this season — money that didn’t exist in his original contract — when the linebacker took a pay cut in March to stay with the team.
Martinez has been training with starters on and off this summer in his rise to power since last season’s torn left ACL, but early on it appeared inside linebackers Martinez and Tae Crowder had a tenuous hold on their work.
Sixth-round pick Darrian Beavers was pushing hard for some major playing time before tearing his left ACL in a preseason game.
With the Beavers out, fifth-round rookie Micah McFadden looks like the next man. He had a good side. Austin Calitro, Carter Coughlin and Cam Brown are also in this room.
And the Giants worked Thursday on former Steelers linebacker Buddy Johnson, who played four career NFL games.
Gettleman originally signed Martinez as a free agent in the spring of 2020 on a three-year, $30.75 million deal with $19 million guaranteed.
The Giants have restructured Martinez’s contract twice: once in 2021, pushing the $3.5 million cap to this year; and again last spring with the pay cut and the $2 million guarantee.
Former Giants defensive coordinator Pat Graham, who coached Martinez in his two seasons in New York, is now the defensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders. Vegas could therefore be a sensible landing spot for Martinez.
The Giants filled the roster spot by claiming guard/tackle Tire Phillips from Baltimore Ravens waivers. The third-year pro has 22 regular season games — 13 starts — and two playoff starts under his belt.
Schoen also dropped four players from the practice squad: OT Garrett McGhin, OT Roy Mbaeteka, CB Darren Evans and S Nate Meadors. The Giants cut those four players on Tuesday, brought them back to practice on Wednesday, then cut them a second time on Thursday.
Schoen also signed four players to the practice squad: OL Wyatt Davis, DE Henry Mondeaux, S Tony Jefferson and LB Charles Wiley.
Thursday’s free agent practice, meanwhile, featured eight players in total: Johnson, guards Alex Bars and Yasir Durant, DBs Mike Brown and Ben DeLuca, tight end Dalton Keene, center Ross Pierschbacher and receiver Kalil Pimpleton.
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