Getty Giants head coach Joe Judge is catching some heat after the release of Isaiah Wilson.
Just 621 days removed from the Tennessee Titans making him the No. 28 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Isaiah Wilson has hit the unemployment line yet again, in search of what would be the fourth team to take a gamble on him in less than two years.
On January 4, the New York Giants finally decided to rid themselves of the troubled Georgia product. The team announced in a two-player dump that they have released Wilson from their practice squad, along with waiving tight end Chris Myarick.
Release Follows Public Call Out From Coach
Wilson’s release comes mere days after he was publically called out by position coach Rob Sale for needing to be more “dependable.” In response, Wilson was MIA from practice less than 24 hours after Sale’s comments. The absence was later classified as a “non-COVID illness.”
Ultimately, the team decided against elevating Wilson to their gameday roster despite a plethora of absences. With Nate Solder returning from COVID-19 protocol and both Matt Peart (torn ACL) and Korey Cunningham (COVID-19) sidelined, the Giants instead activated former undrafted free agent, tackle Derrick Kelly II. Kelly went on to log 17 offensive snaps in New York’s 29-3 beatdown at the hands of the Chicago Bears, which is 14 more snaps than Wilson has logged over the entirety of his career.
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Joe Judge Put on Blast
Wilson, who has had his fair share of run-ins with law enforcement and team-related violations over his short NFL career, did — at one point — appear to be headed in the right direction with the Giants. Originally signed in late September, Wilson shed a notable amount of weight, kept out of the headlines and was cross-training between both the tackle and guard position. Back on November 10, head coach Joe Judge added to the intrigue, noting that the team had “long-term plans” for the former first-rounder.
Welp, that was a lie.
Clearly, the public wasn’t getting the entire story as it pertained to Wilson’s outlook in the Giants organization — and frankly, how could we? Wilson was widely sheltered from the media during his stint in East Rutherford, not being made available to the media since September 30. When the staff spoke about Wilson, they did so sparingly. Even when Sale made his comments regarding Wilson, he tried his best to sidestep the situation at first. When questioned by the media on December 30 about Wilson’s professionalism, Sale issued a “next question” response.
Turns out, the chatter behind the scenes involving Wilson had been far less promising than the Giants let on. On the same day Sale issued his take on the Brooklyn native, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweeted that he’s “heard plenty” on the negative front surrounding Wilson’s professionalism. “There’s a reason why he can’t get on the field,” Duggan added.
It’s understandable why the Giants may have done everything in their power to make things work with Wilson. The team possesses one of the league’s least talented and shorthanded offensive line units in football. It’s very likely left tackle Andrew Thomas could be the lone holdover for the unit come next season. The prospect of finding a potential “long-term” answer for dirt cheap, who — evident by his draft stock — appears to possess all the high-upside traits you’d want from a cornerstone tackle/guard is certainly tantalizing.
However, as SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano noted in a fiery two-part tweet following Wilson’s release, that type of enabling doesn’t bode well for an organization, and more specifically a coach who continually preaches about culture.
“Joe Judge brags about the ‘culture’ he’s building, yet he enabled Isaiah Wilson for three months, even as he lived down to his reputation,” Vacchiano wrote. “OL coach Rob Sale made it clear, Wilson wasn’t ‘dependable’. He also wasn’t accountable. The Giants never made him available to the media. And it doesn’t matter that he was just on the practice squad. Those players count towards the ‘culture,’ too. You either take the team culture seriously or you don’t… You can’t just say you do, then enable players that don’t.”