5 former NY Giants who have jumped ship to join an NFC East rival
3. LB Jessie Armstead
Giants legend Jessie Armstead made the list after he finished a nine-year career in New York and signed with Washington. Armstead was drafted to New York in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft after winning two National Championships with the University of Miami. He would spend nine seasons with the G-Men, posting 967 tackles, 40 sacks, and 12 interceptions.
32 LBs in were taken in the 1993 Draft before Jessie Armstead. Once the Giants took him in the 8th round, Armstead wrote a list of every single LB that was taken before him. Every time a LB on the list retired, he crossed their name off. Armstead never missed a game in his career pic.twitter.com/gB46gQ0sOb
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) June 29, 2020
Armstead earned Pro Bowl honors for five straight seasons from 1997 to 2001. Armstead also earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 1997, with 132 tackles and 3.5 sacks, and Second-Team All-Pro honors in 1999 and 2000. In '99, he finished with 123 tackles, nine sacks, and 21 tackles for loss. Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks could have significantly influenced Armstead, who was dominant at the linebacker position for nine years in New York. However, his time with the G-Men would end in 2002.
After his tenure with the Giants, Armstead signed a three-year, $10.5 million deal with Washington, where he played only two seasons. He signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2004, but retired shortly after a pre-season injury. Flash forward to 2007, when Armstead signed a one-day contract with the G-Men and officially retired as a New York Giant.
In 2008, he rejoined the Giants organization as a special assistant/consultant and would receive a Super Bowl ring that season. Although former Giant and current Raiders head coachAntonio Pierce tried to recruit Armstead to Las Vegas, he is still a Giants' front office member. In 2010, Armstead was officially inducted into the New York Giants Ring of Honor. Despite leaving the Giants at the end of his career to join a divisional rival, Armstead will always be remembered for his time in New York.