Getty Nate Stupar, formerly of the New York Giants
The New York Giants entered last week’s contest against the New England Patriots in an uphill battle. The G-Men were facing off with one of the league’s top teams while also extremely handicapped due to a plethora of injuries on the offensive side of the ball.
Despite the limitations spread throughout their roster, New York fought admirably and would have been in the game down to the very end if it wasn’t for a few crushing mistakes. New York already relieved running back Jon Hilliman for his blunder in last week’s contest, on Monday the team opted to cut bait with another player responsible for a mishap that changed the course of the game.
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Giants Release LB Nate Stupar
Nate Stupar is an eight-year NFL veteran who was brought in by the New York Giants at the end of last year’s preseason in hopes of adding a stellar special teams ace to their roster. Stupar delivered for the most part in 2018, trailing only pro bowler Michael Thomas in special teams snaps and tackles.
However, with the plethora of injuries sustained to the Giants linebacking corps this season, Stupar was pushed into a starting role for the G-Men defense. A role he’d only performed 10 times over his four previous stops in the NFL. In kinder terms, Stupar was out of place, in reality, his play was horrendous. Stupar graded out as one of the worst linebackers in football over the first six weeks of the season.
Current PFF season grades for #Giants‘ inside linebackers:
David Mayo – 78.6
Alec Ogletree – 61.9
Josiah Tauaefa – 47.9
Nate Stupar – 27.7
Tae Davis – 27.6
Despite his struggles defensively he would have likely stuck around New York had it not been for his giant blunder this past Thursday night. With Big Blue punting the ball in an even, no-score contest, their one-time special teams standout stood out for all the wrong reasons. Stupar was bulldozed backward off of the line of scrimmage by Patriots running back/special teamer Brandon Bolden causing Giants punter Riley Dixon to ricochet the kick off of the back of Stupar’s helmet. The ball would then pop up in the air, only to be hauled in by a Patriots defender and returned for a touchdown, giving New England a one-touchdown lead over the Giants.
The Giants had seen all they’ve wanted to see from Stupar in a Giants uniform and decided to cut bait with the linebacker on Monday. Stupar had been quickly fazed out of the team’s defensive gameplan with the surprising, yet riveting, play of fifth-year pro David Mayo. His poor play on special teams was just the icing on the cake.
Giants Re-Sign WR Bennie Fowler
With an open roster spot available after the release of Stupar, the Giants opted to bring back a familiar face. New York re-signed wideout Bennie Fowler. Fowler was cut on October 1st in a somewhat surprising move. Fowler had played 68.5% of the team’s snaps before being let go following Week 4.
Fowler has been brought back as insurance for hobbled receiver Sterling Shepard. While Shepard returned to practice on Monday in a limited basis, he has an uphill battle to return to the playing field in Week 7, as he makes his way back from his second concussion of the season.