New York Giants: 5 Jerry Reese era players Dave Gettleman shouldn’t even bother with
By Sean Dyer
Dwayne Harris
No credit due to Jerry Reese here. Signing Dwayne Harris was a complete waste of money, despite Harris making the Pro Bowl in 2016 as a special teamer.
Signing a special teams player to a contract with over $7 million in guaranteed money was scrutinized at the time and Harris was never able to justify the move.
If this is the end for Harris with the Giants (which it almost has to be), he will finish his Big Blue career with just one return touchdown, a 100-yard kickoff return against his former team, the Dallas Cowboys.
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Sure, Harris was a great gunner on punts, good enough to earn Pro Bowl honors, but when he signed with the New York Giants, it was believed that the only way for him to justify all that guaranteed money was for him to contribute to the offense as a wide receiver.
In 2015, Harris caught 36 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns. In 2016, he caught just one pass for a 13-yard touchdown. And then in 2017, he didn’t see playing time on offense.
I will admit, Harris’s ability to find the end zone as a receiver was impressive but his overall receiving numbers were lackluster.
Harris took a pay cut last season to remain with the team and perhaps he’ll be approached to do the same this year. However, with two years still left on his contract, each with $3.225 million base salaries, the Giants are better off spending that money elsewhere. They’ll incur $1.6 million in dead cap but will still save money that can be used to fix areas of greater need.
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Dave Gettleman didn’t waste any time cleaning house when he took over as New York Giants general manager, firing vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross and cutting starting right tackle Bobby Hart.
Gettleman must continue to wash away the disappointments and underachievers from the Jerry Reese era and usher in a new age of Big Blue football. Getting the Giants back to the playoffs starts with moving on from these five players.