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Davis Webb, who appeared only a few days ago to have solidified a spot as the No. 2 quarterback for the New York Giants, is being waived.
ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan was first with the report.
Quarterback Davis Webb is being waived, per source. Stunning move. Third round pick last year. Played well throughout summer.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 2, 2018
The move means that veteran Alex Tanney and fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta will be the backups for Eli Manning. In which order remains unknown.
Webb was selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by then-Giants GM Jerry Reese. He didn’t play a single snap last season as the Giants careened to a 3-13 season that saw Reese and coach Ben McAdoo fired before the season ended.
New GM Dave Gettleman and new coach Pat Shurmur both said when they came on board that they knew little about Webb.
An avid student of the game and hard worker, Webb did everything possible to prove to the Giants new regime that he was capable of being Manning’s backup, and perhaps deserving of a shot at being his heir at some point down the line.
That, however, wasn’t to be.
The Giants new regime has decided, quite simply, that Webb is not the quarterback they want backing up — or succeeding — Manning.
Nothing about Webb’s time with the Giants has ever been easy to understand. Reese drafted Webb without McAdoo having met with or worked him out. When the Giants season went into the Hudson River last year and he should have been playing, he wasn’t. Now that he appeared to earn the backup job, he has instead earned a ticket to the NFL unemployment line.
Webb went 28-of-53 (52.8 percent) for 283 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in the preseason. He did not play in the final preseason game, a curious move which perhaps can now be explained by the fact that he has been let go.
There were whispers on Saturday that the Giants were trying to trade Webb. Still hopeful of doing so at the deadline for setting 53-man rosters on Saturday, the Giants hung on to four quarterbacks.
Unable to find a trade partner, and needing to clear roster space for the six players they claimed on waivers Saturday, the Giants parted ways with the second-year quarterback.
Webb went 28-of-53 (52.8 percent) for 283 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in the preseason.