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New York Giants head coach Joe Judge has never had to release a player before this season, but now he’s done it several times. It’s an unfortunate part of the business in the NFL and not a side of the job he particularly enjoys.
“That’s the unfortunate part of the business and that’s the reality for every coach and player in the NFL. It’s a not an easy thing to do. No one likes to sit there and tell a player that they are going have to move on from them on the roster at that point in time,” Judge told reporters on Monday. “It’s not a fun part of the job, it’s not something you enjoy. You try to give the player as much information as they can use going forward. Something they can improve on in their own game, something you felt was a strength of theirs that they can really make sure they keep strong and highlight going forward.
“As well, you remind the player it’s important to stay in shape, they have been in our system. We have familiarity with them. There is going to be a lot of movement in the early part of the year as well as throughout the year with both the 53 roster and the practice squad itself. You try to encourage the player on what they can do to improve themselves professionally as well as stay in shape and stay ready. Because when those phone calls happen, they happen fast.”
That’s precisely the advice Judge gave rookie running back Javon Leake upon his release last week — perhaps the most difficult roster decision the first-time head coach has made to date.
“With the way the rosters move throughout the year, every player we have here through camp, we express to them that however the roster moves, we’ll have all of them on a list as far as possibly being brought back for roster or practice squad spots when available,” Judge said at the time of Leake’s release. “He’s a guy that came in and worked his tail off for us. He made a lot of progress and I enjoyed coaching him.”
Things will get no easier for Judge when it comes to releasing players as NFL rosters must be trimmed to 53 men by 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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