Giants Trim Roster To 86
The Giants have begun whittling down their roster in advance of tomorrow’s 75-man deadline, and they’ve made four transactions today. New York still has 86 players on its roster, so it will need to make several more moves before Tuesday.
Waived:
- Tyler Ott, LS
- Myles White, WR
Waived/Injured:
- Matt LaCosse, TE
- Nikita Whitlock, FB
LaCosse, a 2015 UDFA will require knee surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely. If he and Whitlock clear waivers, they’ll revert to the Giants’ IR list.
Matt LaCosse Out Indefinitely
- Elsewhere in New York, Giants tight end Matt LaCosse will require knee surgery and is out indefinitely, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. The 23-year-old LaCosee, an undrafted free agent in 2015, could potentially miss the season, per Raanan.
John Mara On Josh Brown
- Giants owner John Mara the Josh Brown situation on Wednesday and said the club was in fact aware of both the domestic allegations against the kicker and his arrest (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). Nothing has happened since to change the Giants’ opinion on re-signing him in April.
Giants Sign K Randy Bullock
5:43pm: Bullock actually is a vested veteran and can collect termination pay, according to Garafolo (Twitter link), so the Giants will have a decision to make come Week 1. Unless New York wants to pay Bullock $760K for one game’s worth of work, they will have to release Brown or find a non-vested veteran to replace Bullock.
4:02pm: The Giants have themselves a kicker for the first game of the season. Randy Bullock and the Giants agreed to a one-year deal today, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The team has since confirmed the deal via press release. To make room, the Giants waived kicker Tom Obarski. 
[RELATED: Latest On Giants’ Josh Brown]
Of course, kicker Josh Brown was handed a one-game suspension last week for an alleged domestic violence incident, so Bullock will serve as the team’s place kicker for the season opener against the Cowboys. Now that word of additional incidents are coming to light, it’s possible that Bullock’s stay could last longer than early September.
Assuming Bullock’s services are only needed for one week, however, he won’t cost the Giants a whole lot. Since Bullock is not a vested veteran, the Giants will not be on the hook for his full one-year salary if they opt to release him after Week 1.
Bullock, 26, was inconsistent early on in the 2015 season, leading to his release from the Texans. In November 2015, he hooked on with the Jets. In total, Bullock connected on 82.6% of his field goals in 2015 while going 22-for-25 on extra points.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Giants To Audition Kickers
MONDAY, 12:02pm: The Giants are also scheduled to work out punter/kicker Randy Bullock, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. Bullock is not a vested veteran, so he could be a viable one-game fill-in for Brown, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets.
Veteran Josh Scobee was also invited to the Giants‘ kicker workout, but had to turn down an invitation because of another commitment at the same time, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
SUNDAY, 8:18pm: Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said “never say never” when asked earlier today about the possibility of his club signing another kicker, and New York will in fact work out several kickers tomorrow, including Garrett Hartley, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Giants among 10 potential suitors for Karlos Williams]
Incumbent kicker Josh Brown is suspended for the season opener following a 2015 domestic violence arrest, and it’s unclear if the Giants are considering moving on from him, especially given that more serious details have emerged about Brown’s history of violence against his ex-wife. Fellow kicker Tom Obarski, meanwhile was given a “golden opportunity” — McAdoo’s words — to scratch out a role with New York, but he missed a 28-yard field goal attempt in the club’s most recent preseason game.
Hartley, 30, spent five season with the Saints and last kicked for the Browns during a short stint in 2014. He was out of the league in 2015, but he was a part of workouts with the Lions, Jets, and Patriots after spending the preseason with the Steelers, and owns a 81.7% career accuracy rate. La Canfora’s report didn’t list the other kickers who will be involved in Monday’s tryout, but Josh Scobee and Randy Bullock are among the other free agent specialists available.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
10 Teams That Could Claim RB Karlos Williams
After waiving him yesterday, the Bills “fully expect” another NFL club to land running back Karlos Williams, and we’ll find out tomorrow if any other team decided to place a claim (the waiver period is typically 24 hours, but rolls over until Monday on weekends). If no one else is interested, Williams will become a free agent. But given that Williams’ (minimal) signing bonus will accelerate onto Buffalo’s cap –meaning that any acquiring team would only be on the hook for minimum salaries for the next three years — it seems likely that Williams will get claimed.
Clearly, there are reasons to be concerned about Williams’ future. He’ll be suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and he’s struggled with his weight throughout the offseason. At one point, Williams was up 261 pounds, and after losing some of that heft, he’d reportedly begun to balloon once again, leaving the Bills to wonder if he was serious about football.
But Williams also flashed dynamic ability during his rookie season, finishing with 613 yards from scrimmage and nine TDs on just 104 touches while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. The 23-year-old also became one of just two players in NFL history to score a touchdown in each of his first six games in the league. All in all, Williams seemingly defines an old adage: high risk, high reward.
Let’s take a look at several teams that could be interested in Williams, listed in order of their waiver priority:
Cleveland Browns — New head coach Hue Jackson is trying to foster a new culture with the Browns, but he’s also shown a willingness to give players a second chance. He’s embraced wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was recently reinstated from a season-long suspension, and he stood by running back Isaiah Crowell after the latter posted a disturbing image online. Crowell and Duke Johnson figure to get most of the run for Cleveland during the upcoming season, but the club should be stockpiling talent during its rebuild, and Williams would be a cheap upgrade.
San Diego Chargers — San Diego had high hopes for its rushing attack after trading up to select Melvin Gordon in the first round of last year’s draft, but offensive line injuries and Gordon’s own poor play led to the Chargers finishing 31st in rushing DVOA. Gordon then had microfracture surgery in January, and while his long-term prognosis is positive, serious knee injuries are always unwelcome news for young running backs. It looks like Gordon is already losing work to Danny Woodhead during the preseason, and if the Chargers think Gordon is in for another sub-par season, they could take a risk on Williams.
Baltimore Ravens — This is only my speculation, but given that he’s on the wrong side of 30, coming off injury, and due a non-guaranteed $3MM base salary, veteran running back Justin Forsett could be a surprise cut as roster cutdowns approach. Such a move would be made much easier if the Ravens were able to acquire a talent like Williams, who could slot in the backfield after his suspension, teaming with Javorius Allen, Terrance West, Kenneth Dixon, and perhaps Lorenzo Taliaferro. Baltimore has taken chances on character risks in the past, though the club was burned by safety Will Hill, with whom they cut ties after he was handed a 10-game suspension.
Philadelphia Eagles — Like the Browns, the Eagles haven’t been afraid to collect players who are considered character risks, as evidenced by their trade for receiver Dorial Green-Beckham last week. Philadelphia is hoping it can turn around the career of DGB, who struggled with both motivation and learning the Titans’ playbook, and they could place a similar bet on Williams. Like DGB, Williams clearly has talent, and the Eagles could use another option alongside Ryan Mathews, Kenjon Barner, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood. Turron Davenport of USA Today recently looked at how Williams could succeed in the type of outside zone runs employed by the Eagles.
Giants Don’t Rule Out Signing Another Kicker
Although Giants brass last night declined to comment on the domestic violence allegations against kicker Josh Brown or the club’s kicking situation as a whole, head coach Ben McAdoo did speak on the circumstances today. “Never say never,” said McAdoo, when asked about New York adding another kicker, tweets Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
[RELATED: Impact Rookies — New York Giants]
As Schwartz wrote last night, Giants co-owner John Mara told reporters, “I know what you’re going to ask me about. Check with me again next week, but I don’t have anything to say about it.” General manager Jerry Reese declined to comment at all about Brown (“Nope, nothing.”), while McAdoo said, “I’ve said everything I have to say on that situation.” Brown himself also declined to comment.
The NFL suspended Brown one game for a 2015 arrest on a domestic violence charge, but later details painted a much more disturbing picture. Brown’s ex-wife told police that Brown had been physically violent with her over 20 times and that she had previously had a protection order against him. However, the league later issued a statement saying that Brown’s ex-wife, as well as local investigators, had declined to offer further information on the situation, hence the seemingly light suspension.
Tom Obarski, a 2015 undrafted free agent who is the only other kicker on the Giants’ roster, was handed a “golden opportunity” — McAdoo’s words — to stay on the roster, but failed to convert a 28-yard field goal in New York’s preseason game against the Bills last night. Veteran kickers currently available on the free agent market include Josh Scobee, who was released after a two-month offseason stay on the Saints’ roster, and former Texan/Jet Randy Bullock.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Giants Brass Declines Comment On Josh Brown Situation
As Big Blue attempts to sort out its suddenly volatile kicking situation, let’s take a look at some other notes from the league’s east divisions:
Giants rookie kicker Tom Obarski missed a 28-yard field goal during yesterday’s preseason contest against Buffalo, and, predictably, several members of the team’s brass were asked after the game about the controversy surrounding incumbent kicker Josh Brown. As Paul Schwartz of The New York Post writes, co-owner John Mara told reporters, “I know what you’re going to ask me about. Check with me again next week, but I don’t have anything to say about it.” GM Jerry Reese declined to comment at all about Brown, and head coach Ben McAdoo said, “I’ve said everything I have to say on that situation.” Brown himself also declined to comment.
NFL Statement On Josh Brown’s Suspension
The NFL has released a statement on the suspension of kicker Josh Brown. In short, the statement claims that Brown’s ex-wife was not willing to participate in an interview with the league to support her claims. The league was also unable to find corroborating evidence of additional incidents.
[RELATED: Josh Brown’s Ex-Wife Claims History Of Domestic Violence]
The entire statement is below:
In May 2015, the NFL was informed by the New York Giants of Josh Brown’s arrest for an incident in his home involving his then wife. We began an investigation into the incident and circumstances surrounding it.
In the course of the League’s investigation, our investigators became aware that his wife had filed a statement with the county court alleging previous altercations between the spouses. However, despite multiple attempts to speak with her about this incident and her previous statements, she declined to speak with us.We understand that there are many reasons that might have affected her decision not to speak with us, but we were limited in our ability to investigate these allegations.
Over the course of the 10-month investigation, we also made numerous requests—as late as this spring—to local law enforcement officers for information on the case and previous allegations. They declined those requests for information.
As a result of these factors, our investigators had insufficient information to corroborate prior allegations. In addition, no criminal charges were brought forward regarding the incident in question or prior allegations. The NFL therefore made a decision based on the evidentiary findings around this one incident as provided to us by the District Attorney.
The NFL made a finding that Mr. Brown had violated the Personal Conduct Policy. We did so based on the evidence of this one incident as presented in the police report, Mr. Brown and his wife’s statements to police that evening, and his statements in interviews with the NFL.
The NFL Personal Conduct policy allows for discipline to be imposed even when criminal charges are not presented. It further allows for us to consider both aggravating and mitigating factors regarding discipline for domestic violence.
After reviewing the evidence in this one incident, we imposed a one-game suspension for violation of the personal conduct policy. Mr. Brown and the NFLPA appealed this discipline, but the decision was upheld by a hearing officer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Giants’ Josh Brown
Soon after the NFL suspended Josh Brown one game for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, the kicker stood in front of Giants beat writers and said that he did not agree with the punishment. Brown was arrested in May 2015 on an alleged fourth-degree domestic violence charge with his now-former wife, but he felt that the one-game ban was excessive since the state of Washington dropped the charges that same week. 
[RELATED: NFL Suspends Giants K Josh Brown]
Today, Seth Walder of the New York Daily News unearthed the full contents of that 2015 police report and, if the allegations are true, they paint a disturbing pattern of domestic violence between Brown and his now former wife. Molly Brown told police that the Giants kicker had been physically violent with her over 20 times and that she had previously had a protection order against him. Furthermore, she alleged that the violence began while she was pregnant with their daughter.
When asked Thursday about the incident that led to his arrest, Brown said, “It was just a moment.” His ex-wife’s account of things throws that into question, but it’s not immediately clear if there is additional evidence to support her claims. If the claims prove to have merit, then the league may seek to extend Brown’s suspension. The NFL will also have to answer questions about their investigative practices if they did indeed miss a history of violence in Brown’s past.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.