A 17-game starter last season and a full-time defender to start the 2022 campaign, Tae Crowder is now on the waiver wire. The Giants cut the third-year linebacker Tuesday.
This continues a quick tumble for the former seventh-round success story. The Giants benched Crowder in Week 10 and, after not using him on a single defensive snap in their Week 13 tie with the Commanders, they made him a healthy scratch Sunday night. Crowder’s through-2023 rookie contract is now available to be claimed.
The previous Giants regime made Crowder the Mr. Irrelevant pick in the 2020 virtual draft and turned to him as a starter during his rookie season. After starting six games as a rookie, the Georgia product secured full-time status as an NFL sophomore. Last season, Crowder led the Giants with 130 tackles, intercepted two passes and defensed another six. While that seemingly positioned the off-ball linebacker to be a key piece for Brian Daboll‘s team, he did not end up fitting in under new DC Don Martindale.
The Giants benched Crowder for Jaylon Smith midway through this season. A fifth-round pick this year, Micah McFadden has also moved into a starting role under Martindale. The team re-signed Smith during the season and also brought back Landon Collins, using the former Pro Bowl safety as a linebacker during his second stint.
Collins played in his third game since rejoining the Giants, and the Jerry Reese-era draft choice played 27 defensive snaps in New York’s win over Washington. The Giants have used gameday elevations to promote Collins this season, but this Crowder cut points to the seventh-year veteran having an avenue toward being signed to the team’s 53-man roster.
Big Blue will move forward with its retooled linebacking corps, while Crowder will attempt to catch on elsewhere. He certainly has his detractors. Pro Football Focus rates the 25-year-old defender as the league’s second-worst linebacker, among those with enough snaps to qualify. The advanced metrics site slotted Crowder 86th out of 86 off-ball regulars last season. Considering Crowder’s experience, he certainly should generate attention on the wire. But this year has brought considerable negative momentum.