Longtime New York Giant Zak DeOssie officially retires

Legendary New York Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie has officially called it quits. He spent 13 years in the league.

The New York Giants employed just two remaining players from Big Blue’s Super Bowl 42 team last year — Eli Manning and Zak DeOssie. And now, coincidentally or not, both have retired ahead of the 2020 campaign.

After Manning announced his departure from the league back in January, DeOssie officially called it quits on Friday of this week.

The longtime Giants long snapper released a statement in regards to the decision.

Thank you @Giants, friends, family, and fans for the privilege of the last 13 years. What a ride! Excited for the next chapter at @GoldmanSachs. #onlyagiant pic.twitter.com/e5w1Bss19G

— Zak DeOssie (@zdeossie) August 7, 2020

Within the statement, DeOssie thanks the organization, his family, friends, fans, as well as Brown University (his alma mater).

DeOssie was part of both the Super Bowl 42 and 46 squads after the Giants selected him in the fourth round of the 2007 draft. He was additionally a linebacker during his football career but mainly served as a long snapper throughout his pro-level tenure.

His efforts on special teams earned him Pro Bowl bids in both 2008 and 2010.

DeOssie’s Giants tenure didn’t exactly conclude the way he, nor the organization, had hoped. The Giants placed the then-veteran on injured reserve in late November due to both knee and wrist injuries. He took part in just 11 games in 2019.

It was the first time he experienced a stint on injured reserve since 2015 when he missed the final four games of the regular season. Prior to that, he appeared in 140 consecutive matchups to commence his NFL career.

The 36-year-old’s latest contract expired this offseason. New York didn’t re-sign him and instead inked a deal with long snapper Casey Kreiter in April.