Getty Giants DB Montre Hartage.
When the New York Giants added Montre Hartage this offseason, some believed Big Blue may have stumbled upon a free-agent steal and potential starter in their secondary.
That notion clearly never materialized, as Hartage was waived/injured as part of New York’s final roster cuts after suffering a hamstring strain in the final week of training camp. However, after clearing waivers, Hartage was then reverted to the Giants’ injured reserve.
Now, for the second time in the span of less than two weeks, the Giants have opted to part ways with Hartage, waiving the defensive back after coming to terms on an injury settlement. Hartage is now free to sign with any of the other 31 teams in the NFL. However, if the two parties are eyeing a potential reunion down the road, they will have to wait six weeks from his release date before they are permitted to re-sign Hartage to a new deal.
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Hartage’s Versatility & Ties to Staff Leaves Door Open for Return
The Giants clearly feel comfortable moving on from Hartage at the moment, but chances are he’ll be on their short-list of potential additions should any injuries or struggles arise in their secondary.
Hartage’s production in the NFL is less than noteworthy, having finished his rookie NFL campaign with just eight combined tackles and one pass defended. However, it was his ties to now-Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham which likely led New York to claim Hartage off of waivers from the Miami Dolphins back in April.
Hartage played sparingly during his lone season under Graham in Miami, appearing in four total games for the Dolphins in 2019 after being promoted to the team’s active roster in Week 13.
The belief entering training camp was that Hartage would compete for an outside cornerback job in New York, as noted by Giants.com’s John Schmeelk in early July:
One sleeper to watch is Montre Hartage, who was an undrafted free agent with the 2019 Dolphins and bounced between their roster and practice squad under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
However, despite his experience at cornerback, Big Blue opted to play Hartage mostly at safety throughout the summer. This became a position of need in New York following the loss of rookie second-rounder, Xavier McKinney, to a foot fracture late in camp.
Hartage went undrafted out of Northwestern in the 2019 NFL Draft after starting three of his four seasons at cornerback with the Wildcats. He finished his college career with 172 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 26 passes defended and nine interceptions. He earned All-Big Ten Conference honors as a Senior after a 51 tackle, 11 passes defended and two interception campaign.
Hartage became expendable late in the process, as the Giants added defensive backs Issac Yiadom, Brandon Williams and Logan Ryan all towards the later part of training camp.
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Giants Waive Offseason Defensive Back Addition