Aug 24, 2018; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Davis Webb (5) is sacked by New York Jets defensive tackle Steve McLendon (99) during second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
September 3, 2018
Davis Webb, the one-time heir apparent at quarterback to New York Giants veteran Eli Manning, is now looking for an NFL job.
The Giants announced Sunday that Webb was among three players they waived to help make room for an NFL-high six players picked up off the waiver wire.
Now, the backups to Manning will be largely untested veteran Alex Tanney and 22-year-old rookie Kyle Lauletta, a fourth-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft from Richmond. Tanney, 31, has appeared in just one game in the NFL, that coming in 2015 with the Tennessee Titans, and he is expected to be the No. 3 quarterback.
The Giants selected Webb, a product of Cal, in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He did not appear in a game last season.
This preseason, the 23-year-old Webb completed 52.8 percent of his passes for 283 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. By comparison, Lauletta hit a receiver on 48.6 percent of his passes for 194 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Tanney connected on 54.5 percent of his passes for 177 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
The Giants’ old regime — head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese — was fired at the end of the 2017 season. The new regime — head coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Dave Gettleman — drafted Lauletta. Shurmur had been reluctant to declare Webb the No. 2 all summer, according to NJ.com.
Webb did not play on Thursday in the preseason finale.
“We felt like he’s had lots of reps this year,” Shurmur said. “Whether it be practice, and really he had the most of anybody in the games, as well.
“It had less to do about Davis and more to do about Kyle. We wanted to see what we had in Kyle. Because we were going to start Kyle, I didn’t want to put Davis back in there at the end. And we also wanted to take a really good look at Tanney.”
In 40 career games at Richmond, the 6-foot-3 Lauletta completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 10,465 yards with 73 touchdowns and 35 interceptions while averaging 8.8 yards per attempt.
The Giants also parted ways Sunday with guard John Jerry, cornerback William Gay, tight end Jerell Adams, wide receiver Hunter Sharp and defensive tackle Josh Banks.
They claimed defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. (Raiders), center Spencer Pulley (Chargers), wide receiver Kaelin Clay (Bills) and defensive backs Michael Jordan (Browns), Antonio Hamilton (Raiders) and Kamrin Moore (Saints).
The Giants open the season on Sept. 9 against Jacksonville.
–Field Level Media
