The New York Giants are off and running this offseason. They released linebackers Alec Ogletree and Kareem Martin.
As expected, the New York Giants are revamping the defense this season. In the first move of the offseason, linebackers Alec Ogletree and Kareem Martin have been released per Giants.com.
Both Ogletree and Martin joined the Giants in 2018 and failed to become the reliable veterans the team believed they had acquired.
Ogletree was picked up in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams for a fourth and sixth-round draft pick in March of 2018. He was the Giants defensive captain in each of his two years with the team. As a Giant, Ogletree made 172 total tackles and in 2018, tied the team record for interceptions in a single season by a linebacker with five.
Martin signed a three-year contract with New York in March of 2018. He played in every game during his first year with the team, recording a career-high 48 total tackles and picking up 1.5 sacks.
In 2019, Martin was held to just five games due to a knee injury suffered in a Week 1 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He finished the season with just six tackles and did not record a single sack.
By releasing both linebackers, the Giants save $13.05 million in cap space and are left with just $4.6 million in dead cap.
The team now has $74.95 million in cap space to spend this offseason, but that total is likely to increase.
Other veterans such as defensive back Antoine Bethea and tight end Rhett Ellison may also be let go in the coming weeks, which would push the Giants over $80 million in cap space.
A likely busy offseason of spending will begin on March 18 when NFL free agency begins.