New York Giants cut WR Golden Tate, LB David Mayo (Report)

The New York Giants will part ways with both Golden Tate and David Mayo; both moves are financially beneficial for the team.

The Golden Tate and David Mayo eras in East Rutherford have concluded.

According to a Wednesday report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the New York Giants will cut both the wide receiver and inside linebacker. Either move is beneficial for the organization’s cap situation, which currently isn’t ideal in comparison to other teams.

The #Giants have begun making cuts, informed WR Golden Tate and LB David Mayo of their releases, source said. No surprise, but now official.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 3, 2021

Tate finishes his Giants tenure just two years into his four-year deal. He signed the contract prior to the 2019 campaign.

Cutting the veteran wideout saves the organization over $6.1 million in cap space — his cap hit was supposed to be over $10.8 million.

Pulling off this move would’ve been beneficial regardless of the financials. He was simply too much of a headache off the field and didn’t impress enough on the field to make up for it.

In the two seasons with Tate, fans saw a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, the whole “throw me the damn ball” outburst during 2020’s loss to Tampa Bay, along with pure inconsistency on the field. He was no longer worth the time or money.

After a promising 2019 season in which he started 13 games, Mayo signed a three-year deal before last season but didn’t possess a concrete role within defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s system. He seemingly wasn’t as valued as much as other guys like 2020 rookie and “Mr. Irrelevant” Tae Crowder.

He’s a replaceable asset within the linebacking corps and the release saves the organization $2.3 million (what was supposed to be his entire cap hit). Mayo, however, should find another place of employment soon enough.

The Giants may not be done making cuts considering they need to clear a great deal of cap space to bring back valuable defensive weapons such as Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. Cutting veteran offensive tackle Nate Solder would save $6 million in cap space. Solder is increasing in age (he’s currently 32 years old), struggled his first two years with the team, and hasn’t played since 2019 (he opted out of the 2020 campaign due to coronavirus concerns).

Offensive guard Kevin Zeitler ($12 million saved) could additionally be a cap casualty heading into the 2021 season, along with tight end Levine Toilolo ($3 million saved) and center Spencer Pulley ($2.7 million saved).