Already running out of Pro Bowlers, the Giants cut one of their few.
Kicker Aldrick Rosas will be released six weeks after a hit-and-run collision that resulted in three misdemeanor charges in California, as the NFL Network first reported.
Rosas, 25, planned to show up at training camp on Tuesday alongside his veteran teammates, including cornerback DeAndre Baker, who was arrested this offseason for felony. Baker, a 2019 first-round pick, flies from Florida to New Jersey today. The Giants sign former Jets kicker Chandler Catanzaro to replace Rosas.
The Giants enter training with just three players with a Pro Bowl on their resume. Saquon Barkley, Golden Tate and Leonard Williams have been selected once each.
Rosas won the Southern Oregon University stranger job in 2017 and has had three tumultuous seasons, sandwiching a Pro Bowl year in 2018 between two inconsistent seasons. He has scored 82.7% of his field goals, but that number has been increased by his performance of 32 of 33 in 2018.
The Giants retained Rosas as a restricted free agent during the offseason using the second-round bidding, but the one-year, $ 3.2 million contract was not guaranteed, it was not guaranteed. There will therefore be no dead salary cap by releasing him.
Rosas has been charged with reckless driving, collision damage to property and driving with a suspended license due to a previous DUI in California. He faces no alcohol-related charges despite noted suspicions from California Highway Patrol that alcohol was involved in the crash because he was not subjected to a field sobriety test.
Police caught up with a bloodied Rosas three hours later walking by the side of the road about a mile from the scene, according to the collision report. He has an arraignment hearing on September 4 that does not require an in-person appearance and the case is unlikely to be resolved before that date.
Stephen Gostkowski seemed like an obvious choice to replace Rosas, but for now the Giants are leaving with Catanzaro. Gostkowski, 36, is a four-time Pro Bowler who has been one of the NFL’s top big game kickers in the previous 14 seasons with the Patriots. Gostkowski has scored 87.4% of his field goals, but spent most of last season on the injured reserve (left hip) and was cut in March.
“I’m not ready to just hang up,” Gostkowski told NBCSports Boston in April. “I’ll try to play. It’s going to be tough showing the teams what I can do now or work out or exercise, but I’m not too worried about that.
Giants coach Joe Judge coached special teams with the Patriots from 2012-19, including five seasons as coordinator. If anyone knows how much Gostkowski left in the tank without needing to see a coronavirus era workout, it’s the judge.
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