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There must be something in the water in East Rutherford because for the third time in less than two weeks, a relatively new member of the New York Giants has decided to retire.
Less than 48 hours after linebacker Todd Davis announced that he would retire, veteran offensive lineman Joe Looney, signed by the Giants over the weekend, has also decided to hang things up.
In addition to Looney and Davis, who praised the Giants and their coaches on his way out the door, wide receiver/tight end Kelvin Benjamin also decided to retire after showing up to camp overweight. He was subsequently cut.
Unlike Davis, Benjamin was a little less complimentary of head coach Joe Judge and the Giants staff.
“It was just like they were trying to sabotage me to get me out of there,” Benjamin told Zack Rosenblatt of NJ Advance Media. “I just felt like from Day 1, once I stepped on the field, once I put on the colors, he never liked me. He didn’t even want me there.
“I have a perspective on Joe Judge. He’s not a coach that can ever win a Super Bowl because he sits there and cusses all day. You can tell he’s one-sided about everything. He’s a know-it-all. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. We all can learn from each other. We’re all humans at the end of the day. The true colors will come out.”
When it comes to Looney, he simply didn’t feel like he had it in him to continue at the NFL level.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports that Looney has too much respect for Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett (and himself) to force things.
Yeah, his body had it, apparently. Just didn’t feel he had it in him anymore and has too much respect for the game and his OC.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 4, 2021
Garafolo added that running laps on both Monday and Tuesday, which followed a full-team brawl, had nothing to do with the decision.
“That’s something I ain’t done since little league, but you know I loved it. It’s another way to hold us accountable as professionals,” Looney told reporters after practice on Monday. “If you make a mistake, you’re going to have to run a lap for it. You know, I’m all about it. It holds us accountable at the end of the day.”
“I found out once they said take a lap. I haven’t heard take a lap since I was 10-years old, but I definitely understand it and I’m going to do whatever helps the team and helps me, also,” Looney added. “I just snapped the ball early. You know, little things. I’m knocking the rust off, you know? Eight months without football, still knocking this off.”
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