The NY Giants' training camp is right around the corner and with that comes one of the tougher times of the year, roster cuts. This is a time where fans say goodbye to several veterans on both sides of the ball. It's never easy to see, but Joe Schoen has some brutal decisions that he's going to have to make in the near future.
There are four Giants in particular who, going into training camp, seem like prime candidates to be released for various reasons. While they could potentially play a useful role on the team, it may make sense to let these players go in order to free up space for guys with more potential behind them:
4. DB Jalen Mills
Out of all the guys we are about to list, Jalen Mills seems like he has the biggest chance to stay thanks to the floor he provides at safety. He likely won't start Day 1 thanks to Tyler Nubin, and with higher-celling players like Dane Belton and Elijah Riley behind him, Mills could be a prime candidate to be released.
However, Mills can provide things for the Giants. Most importantly, stability. As a rookie, Nubin will likely have the ups and downs most first-year DBs go through. This means Mills could step in and provide consistently solid play at safety.
Last season for the Patriots, Mills racked up 46 combined tackles, earning an 84.1 run defense grade, which ranked seventh amongst all safeties. This style of play alongside Jason Pinnock could play well. However, the Giants don't really need a run-stopping safety, and unfortunately for Mills, he isn't very great in coverage.
Through 303 pass-coverage snaps last season, Mills allowed 17 receptions on 29 targets for 157 yards and zero touchdowns playing as the low safety. These numbers aren't terrible, but guys like Nubin and others provide much more versatility, are cheaper, and have way more upside moving forward. Despite this, we wouldn't be shocked if Mills managed to stick around past the cuts.