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Justin Tuck makes right move to retire as member of New York Giants

By Nick Ziegler

Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck (91) celebrates after a sack against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Raiders defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck (91) celebrates after a sack against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Raiders defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Giants recently had one of their greats announce his retirement, as Justin Tuck is hanging up the cleats after 11 seasons.

In the 2005 NFL Draft, the Giants would get a steal when they selected Tuck in the third round with the 74th overall pick from the University of Notre Dame.

Like most third round picks, Tuck didn’t take the NFL by storm right away, as he only recorded one sack in his first two seasons in the NFL. In 2007, Tuck had his breakout season for the Giants, as he totaled 10 sacks and one forced fumble in the regular season.

2007 was also the year that the Giants pulled off the huge upset over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, and Tuck was a big part of that upset. Against Tom Brady and the Patriots, Tuck was able to total two sacks in the game, as he was a key contributor to the Giants’ pass rush that held Brady to just 14 points in the game.

Tuck would be named to his first Pro Bowl in the 2008 season, as he totaled a career-high 12 sacks that season.

Despite a down season in 2011, Tuck would once again rise to the challenge in the playoffs for the Giants, as he totaled 3.5 sacks during the postseason, which included another two against the Patriots.

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After 11 sacks in the 2013 season, Tuck signed with the Oakland Raiders in free agency after the Giants didn’t express much interest in bringing him back. Tuck didn’t do much in Oakland, as the Giants may have made the right call letting him walk at the time, as he only totaled six sacks in two seasons with the Raiders.

When Tuck retired, the big question was would he sign a one-day deal with his former team to retire as a Giant.

“One question we didn’t get asked that I’ve seen a lot of Giants fans tweet me is ‘Am I going to do a one-day contract with the Giants?’” Tuck said to ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. “The answer to that is ‘Yes.’ We can’t do it yet because the league (year) doesn’t open until the second week of March. So for all the Giants fans out there asking me ‘Am I going to retire a Giant?’ Absolutely I am.”

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It is great to see that Tuck and the Giants are on the same page with him retiring as a member of Big Blue, as there were some concerns about the nature of their split in 2013.

Tuck will likely be in the Giants’ Ring of Honor one day, as he was a key player in the Giants’ two most recent Super Bowls.

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