4 NY Giants who will join Tae Crowder in not returning next season

1. LB Jaylon Smith

The inside linebacker position for the New York Giants has been quite the carousel in 2022. When the Giants entered training camp, Blake Martinez and Tae Crowder sat at the top of the inside ‘backer depth chart. Big Blue stunningly cut Martinez, their defensive signal caller, which started the carousel.

Rookie Darrian Beavers, a preseason standout, took Martinez’s spot but tore his ACL. Veteran Austin Calitro was than given the reigns but struggled. The Giants re-signed Jaylon Smith to fill the void, but he has struggled big time.

After the Giants waived Crowder, Smith and rookie Micah McFadden are the only two inside linebackers remaining on the roster. Smith is currently the Giants number one inside linebacker, but PFF has given Smith a porous 52.5 defensive grade, and ranks him 67 out of the 80 qualified inside NFL linebackers.

Smith is just a placeholder for the Giants. McFadden and Beavers will battle to become the Giants inside linebackers of the future, and it is likely the Giants will add multiple players to that position through the draft and free agency this offseason. Smith has made some strong plays for the G-Men at times in ’22, but he’ll have to look for a new home next season.