The Giants decided they couldn’t restructure Brandon Jacobs’ contract for the second-straight season. Instead, they cut him.
“It’s been a great ride,” Jacobs said in a statement released by the team. “It’s a great organization, a standup organization. I had fun. Won two Super Bowls here. I accomplished a lot in my career as a professional athlete here. That’s it. It’s been a good ride. Time to move on.”
Jacobs was officially released late Friday afternoon, ending a seven-year career with the Giants. Jacobs was part of both the 2008 and 2012 Super Bowl championship teams.
“Brandon helped us win two world championships,” Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said in a statement Friday. “He always did what was in the best interest of team. No matter what you asked him to do, he performed and played in whatever role we asked him to perform. He really was a team player.
“I have always felt like Brandon could be counted on. He’s a guy that is very, very good in meetings for me. He pays attention. He picks up on the message. He loves the excitement of the game. He loves everything about it — the pregame routine, the talking to his teammates, trying to motivate his teammates. He loves every part of it.”
In the end, the decision was as much about money as production on the field. The two sides had restructured Jacobs’s contract last season to make room for a new deal for Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs said earlier this offseason that he was willing to do the same in 2012.
The sides could not agree on a new deal, however. Jacobs likely stands to make more money as a free agent.
“Brandon has truly been a great Giant,” general manager Jerry Reese said in a statement. “These times are always very hard for me. We had a very good conversation today. We don’t know what the future holds for Brandon, but we wish only the very best for him and his family.”
Jacobs rushed for just 571 yards on 152 carries in 2011 — the fewest yards he’s had since he backed up Tiki Barber in 2006. He scored seven touchdowns.
Jacobs will always be remembered as a punishing back, making use of his 6-foot-4, 264-pound frame. His dumptrucking of Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather on the first drive and narrowly successful fourth-down run on the final drive of Super Bowl XLII may be the two lasting images of Jacobs’s Giants career.
He finished his Giants career with 4,849 yardsand 56 touchdowns in exactly 100 games.
Follow New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.
