Giants general manager Joe Schon made a surprising threat to Nick McLeod and his agent in November while negotiating a potential pay cut for defensive backs.
“Don't pay October's rent, okay?'' I will replace him as soon as I can. I’m not kidding,” Shane told MacLeod’s representative over the phone. According to ESPN.
According to ESPN, Schoen then hung up.
Vincent Calchietta-Iman images
These new details reveal how the Giants' front office is operating amid back-to-back horrible seasons.
McLeod, a veteran “Swiss Army Knife” defensive back, was being praised by team officials just a few months ago.
But McLeod quickly fell out of favor with team executives, even though he earned the starting spot out of camp.
In September, it was reported that Schoen and company were asking the veteran to take a pay cut on the one-year, $3 million contract he signed in March.
NFL executives told ESPN that the offer was highly unusual, as it came just before McLeod's Week 4 game against the Dallas Cowboys, when he was scheduled to start.
The veteran defender said no to that request.
McLeod was ultimately fired, but not in September. It's not even October.
The cornerback played his last game with Big Blue on November 3, but was waived two days later.
Between the call before Week 4 and McLeod's firing on Nov. 5, the cornerback started four more games for the Giants.
The move saved the team $1.5 million against the cap.
McLeod was a leader in the Giants' locker room, a playbook that played outside cornerback, safety, slot cornerback, linebacker, and a hybrid “money backer” position that defensive coordinator Shane Bowen often flaunted. He was a respected veteran who knew his assignments well.
Still, as ESPN reported, Schoen told media members in late November that he didn't think his manipulation was alienating players.
It's not MacLeod's maneuver. It's not a Xavier McKinney maneuver. It wasn't Saquon Barkley's piloting error.
The Giants were 2-7 when McLeod was released, but had lost seven of their final eight games.
MacLeod may not have been part of the solution, but he certainly wasn't the core of the problem either.
