Giants Without WR Sterling Shepard This Weekend
- The Giants placed three wideouts (Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, and Dwayne Harris) on the injured reserve this past week, and it looks like they’ll be without another top receiver for at least this weekend. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweets that wideout Sterling Shepard is out for tomorrow’s contest in Denver. The former second-rounder has hauled in 22 receptions for 263 yards and one touchdown this season.
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Giants Audition OL Orlando Franklin
The Giants auditioned or met with a host of free agents today, according to Field Yates and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter links), and the club specifically focused on the offensive line. Here’s the entire list:
Workouts
- OL Orlando Franklin
- OL Nick Becton
- OL Connor Bozick
- OL Laurence Gibson
- OL Victor Salako
- LB P.J. Dawson
- DB Darryl Morris
Visits
- OL Cyrus Kouandjio
- OL Reid Fragel
Franklin, 29, has already been released twice this calendar year, first by the Chargers — who employed Franklin for the past two seasons — and then by the Saints, with whom Franklin lasted less than a week. A knee injury reportedly led to New Orleans cutting ties, and though there was some thought that Franklin could re-sign with the Saints, a new deal never came to fruition.
A guard by trade, Franklin has also played tackle (the area of most need on the Giants’ roster), but it’s not clear that he’d be an improvement over Ereck Flowers or Bobby Hart. To be sure, Flowers and Hart have struggled mightily this season, but Franklin graded as one of the seven worst guards in the NFL a year ago, per Pro Football Focus. As far as reserves go, however, New York could do worse, as Franklin boasts 89 starts worth of pro experience.
Kouandjio offers several intriguing traits, as well, and chief among them is his youth, as he’s still only 24 years old. The former second-round pick was waived by the Bills earlier this year following an odd off-field incident, and then failed to beat out draft bust Greg Robinson for the Lions’ fill-in left tackle job. He’s only started 12 games in three NFL seasons.
Latest On Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
This week, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was hit with what the Giants are calling an “indefinite” suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. The ban might not last all that long, however. On Friday, coach Ben McAdoo told reporters he and Rodgers-Cromartie will “revisit” the suspension next week (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). 
[RELATED: Victor Cruz Lobbies Giants To Sign Him]
Furthermore, McAdoo told reporters that DRC has not requested a trade. Even if that’s true, the 0-5 Giants may want to consider that possibility between now and the Halloween deadline. DRC has a cap hit of $8.589MM for this season and $8.5MM for next season before his contract expires. If the Giants are in for a rebuild, and it certainly seems like they are, it would make sense to turn him into draft capital. With young Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins, the Giants would still have two quality starters to bank on going forward.
DRC has looked slow at times this season, but the stats indicate that he is still playing solid football. In his five games, DRC ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 30 corner in the NFL this season with a quality 80.3 overall score.
Victor Cruz Lobbies Giants To Sign Him
The Giants are in desperate need of help at wide receiver. Still, they say that former star Victor Cruz is not an option and that is a mystery to the player. 
“I’ve been literally thinking to myself of reasons why they wouldn’t and I can’t think of any,’’ Cruz said on his podcast (transcription via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post).
Earlier this week, coach Ben McAdoo threw cold water on the idea that Cruz could return to the Giants’ lineup in the wake of injuries to Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard, and Dwayne Harris. That hasn’t stopped Cruz from dreaming.
“Can I paint a picture for you?’’ Cruz said. “Can you imagine, if I get a phone call from the New York Giants and I go back out there wearing the number 80 in blue and I get in that end zone one more time? Do you understand? I can already hear the deafening screams from the crowd. Already, I can hear it.’’
After the Giants’ nightmare of a game, Cruz says his agent called the team to ask about a potential reunion. The agent was told that the Giants would assess their injuries and then get back to him. If the 0-5 Giants can’t get in the win column this weekend, they may want to reconsider their stance on Cruz.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Giants promoted cornerback Donte Deayon off their practice squad to replace the suspended Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on their 53-man roster. Cromartie was suspended indefinitely earlier on Thursday. This marks the latest in a string of practice squad promotions for Big Blue this week. The Giants summoned three wide receivers from their taxi squad due to the string of injuries they suffered at that position. As for Deayon, he signed a Giants reserve/futures deal in January and latched on with their practice squad in September.
- Linebacker Adam Bighill will rise from the Saints‘ practice squad to their active roster, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com tweets. The Saints kept Bighill on a futures deal and used him in one game earlier this season.
Giants Ban DRC Indefinitely
Near the end of business on Wednesday, it seemed like things were heading in a more positive direction between the Giants and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Apparently, there’s still some healing to be done between the team and the cornerback. The Giants announced on Thursday morning that DRC has been “suspended indefinitely.” 
The suspension isn’t truly indefinite since the CBA dictates a four-game maximum ban for conduct detrimental to the team. But, at minimum, it sounds like he will not be in action for this Sunday’s contest against the Broncos in Denver. He’ll lose out on $410K in base salary for every game that he misses.
Things got heated between DRC and the team starting last Friday when he walked out of a team activity. Then, during Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, he became visibly angry on the sidelines and walked to the locker room. This week, Ben McAdoo told him he would not be active for the Denver game. Then, DRC walked out of a defensive meeting on Wednesday, resulting in the suspension.
In the aftermath, Rodgers-Cromartie was saying all of the right things, so it seemed like this would be patched up rather quickly. That’s not the case, however, and DRC’s status with the team is now up in the air.
Latest On Giants’ DRC
On Wednesday, the Giants suspended Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie after he got into an argument with coach Ben McAdoo. We now have some additional information on how things came to a head between the two. 
[RELATED: Giants Work Out Several WRs]
The issues between McAdoo and DRC started last Friday, when the cornerback walked out of the team’s “recovery day” session, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link) reports. Then, during Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, the cornerback threw his helmet down on the sideline and walked off the field. On Tuesday, DRC was informed that he would not be active for the upcoming game against the Broncos. On Wednesday, DRC bailed on a defensive team meeting, prompting the ban.
Despite everything that went on, the Giants have no plans to release or trade Rodgers-Cromartie, Graziano hears. Instead, they plan to welcome him once he has served his punishment. And, for his part, DRC says he’ll report to the Giants on Thursday (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson).
Giants Work Out Several WRs
In case you haven’t heard, the Giants are on the lookout for wide receiver help. On Wednesday, the Giants worked out a host of potential replacements, including Philly Brown, Demarcus Ayers, Kalif Raymond, Jeremy Ross, and Canaan Severin. 
[RELATED: Giants Suspend CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie]
Of course, no one in the group offers the same name value as injured stars Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. But, here in mid-October, options are limited. Brown, a former standout at Ohio State, may offer the most potential of anyone in the group. He had 31 catches for 447 yards and four touchdowns in 2015 for the Panthers, though his yards-per-catch average dipped sharply in 2016.
If Sterling Shepard cannot go in Week 6, the Giants will have only Roger Lewis, Travis Rudolph, Tavarres King, and Ed Eagan at wide receiver.
Michael Bowie Has Charges Dropped
Charges against former Giants offensive lineman Michael Bowie have been dropped, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The Giants did not rule out an eventual reunion with Bowie, so it’s possible that they will circle back to him to help bolster the offensive line. 
The Giants cut Bowie in August when the accusations against him came to light. Bowie was involved in an argument with his girlfriend in Oklahoma that allegedly turned physical. Police said Bowie to have grabbed his girlfriend by the neck and threw her to the ground. He also was said to have broken two televisions and punched a hole in a wall in the process. The lineman was facing charges of domestic assault and battery plus two counts of malicious injury or destruction of property, but he’s now in the clear from a legal perspective.
The NFL could still come down on Bowie with a suspension, but the investigative process tends to take a while, so he should be able to play right away if signed by a team.
The Giants are set to meet with Branden Albert this week, so they’re definitely on the lookout for some O-Line help.
Giants Suspend Rodgers-Cromartie
The Giants have suspended cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, coach Ben McAdoo announced. McAdoo declined to go into specifics when addressing reporters on Wednesday.
“DRC came in yesterday, we had a conversation that was personal…He came in today and decided to leave. We will suspend him,” McAdoo said before brushing off follow-up questions.
Safety Landon Collins indicated that tensions flared between DRC and McAdoo on the sidelines on Sunday (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). He even termed the incident as an “altercation.”
The suspension is probably of the indefinite variety. At minimum, DRC probably won’t be in uniform for Sunday’s game against the Broncos. We’ll have to wait and find out whether the Giants will bring him back for games against the Seahawks (Oct. 22), Rams (Nov. 5) and beyond.
Rodgers-Cromartie came to the Giants on a five-year, $35MM free agent deal prior to the 2014 season. He has been among the league’s better corners since coming aboard and earned a Pro Bowl nod for his work in 2015. After missing only two games in a three-year span, he could miss significant time as tensions bubble in New Jersey.
The Rodgers-Cromartie suspension is just the latest setback in what has been a bizarre season for the Giants. The G-Men are 0-5 and there is little hope for a turnaround with their top two receivers out for the year and their best cornerback at odds with the organization.
The Giants have struggled as a whole, but Cromartie has been solid through five games. DRC ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 30 corner in the NFL this season with a quality 80.3 overall score. That’s down from his usual work (85.7 average over previous four seasons, including career-high 89.9 in ’16), but still casts him as starting caliber.