NY Giants: Was moving on from Kyle Lauletta a mistake?

NY Giants GM Dave Gettleman moved on from QB Kyle Lauletta very early on in his career; could the team now use him as it’s backup, though?

I made my feelings known on Kyle Lauletta being cut last August, and I’ll admit the move still doesn’t sit right with me. So, maybe I’m biased, but it’s hard not to think that the NY Giants would be much better off with him still on their roster right now.

With Eli Manning retiring, Daniel Jones‘ backup is now 31-year-old journeyman – and all-around useless in terms of playing football – Alex Tanney. I was floored at the time when Big Blue decided to keep a second mentor around for Daniel Jones than rolling with the upside of it’s 2018 fourth-round draft pick.

The move made little sense then, and even less sense now. As I stated at the time, if Eli was ever replaced it would be for good. At that point, the team would already have a more than capable backup and mentor. Almost hilariously, Alex Tanney was ‘cut’ by the Giants during the season, and to no one’s surprise, he was not claimed.

Lauletta however, was claimed – by division rival Philadelphia. The former Richmond Spider spent the year on the practice squad and recently signed another reserve/futures contract with the Eagles. Just before being released, the second-year pro had just finished off a preseason effort that saw him compile a 103.8 QB rating and a 19-point comeback win ni the finale.

There’s no telling if Lauletta will actually stick in the NFL for a long period of time, but I’d sure like to be able to find out – especially when considering what we chose over him. The NY Giants are in a position now where they simply have to take the backup quarterback position seriously, and with a team that has this many holes, investing a mid-round pick in one doesn’t seem like the best scenario.

Neither does paying premium backup dollars to guys like Marcus Mariota or Case Keenum, either.

As our mothers all told us when we were young, there’s no use crying over spilled milk. I’m not sure what her thought process on squandering draft assets and backup quarterbacks is though – I’ll have to ask.