Giants’ roster news: Newly-signed C Joe Looney retires

Jordan Raanan of ESPN is reporting that New York Giants center Joe Looney is retiring from football.

The Giants signed Looney just three days ago, following his visit with the team over the weekend. As Raanan notes, Looney’s signing was expected to give the Giants’ some much-needed depth, versatility, and stability on the offensive interior.

Ed Valentine noted from Giants’ camp that Looney was spotted snapping to Daniel Jones shortly after signing. That sparked speculation at camp that he could be in competition for the starting center job, or that the Giants could be considering a move to guard for Nick Gates. Of course, Looney’s first practice reportedly involved some penalty laps and the team punishment for the brawl which ended practice — though whether that contributed to his decision to retire is unknown.

The had shown interest in former Kansas City Chiefs center Austin Reiter, though Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the Giants met with Reiter before signing Looney. Reiter is still unsigned, and perhaps the Giants will have renewed interest following Looney’s retirement.

Looney apparently didn’t think he was physically up to the task.

This is the second surprising retirement of a veteran free agent addition in as many days. Just Tuesday, veteran linebacker Todd Davis retired less than a week after he signed with the Giants.

The situation is certainly curious, and bears watching. Stay with Big Blue View for all the news and developments coming out of camp.