There are bad starts to a season, and then there’s the kind of start that gets you remembered for punching defenders in the face and getting flagged four times in one drive. You know what they say: it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. But when the dog is 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, it definitely helps.
That pretty much sums up offensive tackle James Hudson’s short and utterly chaotic stay with the New York Giants.
According to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, the Giants officially released the veteran swing tackle on Friday, clearing roughly $5.4 million in cap space as they finish tidying up the books ahead of free agency:
The Giants released OT James Hudson. A no-brainer. It's a move that saves $5.4 million against the cap.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) March 6, 2026
Joe Schoen and Co. have generally done a solid job on the pro personnel side with free agents. This was a bad miss and an easy first-guess.
It’s one of several roster moves happening in the final hours before the market opens, though not all of them have gone the way people thought they would have.
New York surprisingly chose not to cut running back Devin Singletary, instead restructuring his contract to keep him around for another season for $1.3 million. They also brought back special teams ace Gunner Olszewski on a one-year deal. Hudson, on the other hand, didn’t get the same courtesy.
Giants cut James Hudson in most obvious cap-saving move of the century
Big Blue signed the 26-year-old to a two-year, $12 million deal last offseason to be the veteran swing tackle they've lacked forever. The G-Men ended up needing him immediately while Andrew Thomas worked his way back from a season-ending Lisfranc injury, and the results were about as rough as it gets, rough being the optimal word.
His Week 2 meltdown against the Dallas Cowboys quickly became the defining moment of his Giants tenure. Four penalties on a single drive, including a punch on James Houston -- classic James-on-James crime -- that brought out the unnecessary roughness flag, and a sideline explosion that ended with him getting benched after just 16 snaps.
That was more than enough for then-head coach Brian Daboll to start fifth-round rookie Marcus Mbow.
From that point on, Hudson spent most of the year parked firmly in the doghouse while Mbow took over the role he was supposedly brought in to fill. By the time the season wrapped up, he couldn't have been a more obvious cap casualty if he tried.
Cutting him frees up $5.4 million in cap space and pushes New York to an estimated $14.279 million into the legal tampering period on Monday. For a team with holes all over the roster, every bit of breathing room helps.
Hudson will now join the free agent market and try to get another shot somewhere else, while the Giants move forward with an offensive line room that couldn't figure out how to handle his fiery personality.