Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie comes to work, Giants suspend him indefinitely
If you thought the Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie issue with the New York Giants would end with a one-game suspension and they’d move along, think again.
Rodgers-Cromartie, the veteran Giants cornerback, reported to the team facilities on Thursday and was told he was suspended indefinitely, according to numerous reports. Coach Ben McAdoo said Wednesday that Rodgers-Cromartie would be suspended, apparently over an argument last Sunday. Giants safety Landon Collins called it an “altercation.” Rodgers-Cromartie left the Giants facility on Wednesday.
Rodgers-Cromartie loses $410,588 for every game he’s suspended according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
McAdoo is making quite a statement here. He’s already embattled, and it didn’t seem like the team wanted Rodgers-Cromartie to be punished harshly. Collins, one of the team’s best players, indicated the Giants players wanted DRC back.
Asked if the players would accept DRC back into the locker room, Landon Collins did not hesitate.
"Yes. Absolutely." #Giants— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) October 11, 2017
Landon Collins on DRC: "That’s a big issue in the room, we need to address it … we don’t need nobody else separating from the team.''
— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) October 11, 2017
It’s a messy situation. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan and Dan Graziano reported Rodgers-Cromartie wasn’t happy with his role on Sunday. At one point he left the field and went back to the locker room and the team thought it was with the intent to leave the stadium, ESPN reported. Rodgers-Cromartie eventually returned to the sideline. The team had previously instituted a rule punishing players with playing time and not fines for “game-day distractions” after Odell Beckham Jr. mimicked a dog peeing on the field after a touchdown, ESPN reported, and Rodgers-Cromartie was disciplined under that rule. So the overreaction to Beckham has now snowballed into a new controversy.
The problem with all of this is McAdoo’s seat is getting white hot. The Giants are 0-5 and he is under a lot of criticism. It’s impossible to gauge how many Giants agree with him or side with Rodgers-Cromartie, but it’s another problem McAdoo doesn’t need. The season is going badly enough on the field. Now it’s getting worse off the field.
This story will continue to play out. It seems like a turning point for McAdoo’s increasingly tenuous tenure as Giants head coach.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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