Mathias Kiwanuka Cut By Giants

Mathias Kiwanuka has been cut by the New York Giants. The news was first reported by Kim Jones of NFL Network and has now been officially announced by the Giants.

Kiwanuka, 31, did not play well for the Giants the past two seasons and had his 2014 season end when he had to undergo knee surgery after 11 games. His release after nine seasons and 120 games with the Giants since being selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft is hardly unexpected. He had 38.5 sacks during his time with the Giants.

Cutting Kiwanuka will save the Giants $4.825 million against the 2015 salary cap.

Kiwanuka bounced back and forth between defensive end and outside linebacker during his career with the Giants.

"Mathias has a warrior mentality," said Giants general manager Jerry Reese. "He has been the ultimate team player for this franchise, and was a true pro from day one.""The thing that has always impressed me about Kiwi is how serious he is about the game," said head coach Tom Coughlin. "He was always prepared and always in outstanding condition and played very hard. And he had some nasty in him.

"His character and professionalism and serious approach to the game will be missed."

This could be the end of the line for Kiwanuka as an NFL player. It also means the Giants have no defensive players remaining from Steve Spagnuolo's first tenure as the team's defensive coordinator. Oddly, we just talked about the possible return of another former Giant, Osi Umenyiora, a star for Spagnuolo. Could Umenyiora replace Kiwanuka?