The Giants got down to the brutal business of ridding their roster of veteran players who combined two lethal realities: high salaries and multiple injuries.
They released left tackle Will Beatty and guard Geoff Schwartz on Wednesday, which combined with the retirement of linebacker Jon Beason, creates an additional roughly $12 million of 2016 salary cap space.
None of these decisions qualifies as shocking. Beason, acquired via trade in 2013, revealed his retirement after nine seasons — the second half of his career decimated by injuries. The 31-year-old played only five games this past season and missed 23 of 32 games the past two years. Beason had said he needed surgery to repair cartilage in his knee.
“I always tried to give my all and be competitive,” Beason told Giants.com. “I wanted to go out and continue to play at a high level, giving my all. I was able to do that.”
Beatty, after starting every game for three years, missed the entire 2016 season with a torn pectoral. His spot at left tackle has been taken by Ereck Flowers, the 2015 first-round pick.
Schwartz was signed in 2014 to anchor a starting guard spot, but was unable to stay on the field because of serious lower leg injuries. He played in only two games in 2014 and 11 games in 2015 after fracturing his ankle.
Beatty, 30, was set to make $6.6 million and count $9.1 million on the salary cap. Schwartz, 29, was set to make $3.9 million with a cap hit of $4.9 million. Beason was scheduled to make $2.8 million and cost $6.5 million on the cap.
Entering the offseason with around $40 million in salary cap space, general manager Jerry Reese — under fire by ownership to improve the roster — now has $52 million to $55 million to spend to fill the holes on a team coming off back-to-back 6-10 seasons that cost Tom Coughlin his head coaching job.
Of the three players removed from the roster, Beatty was the lone original Giant, a second-round pick in 2009 out of UConn. Beatty had his moments, but he was never a physical presence on the offensive line and never lived up to the five-year, $38.75 million contract — with $19 million in guaranteed money — he signed prior to the 2013 season.
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