How Brian Daboll is Handling Player Public Grievances About Play Time

Tae Crowder and Rodarius Williams took to Twitter to vent frustration over their play time in Sunday's game.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 5, 2022 6:22 PM EST

In this story:

The New York Giants haven't won a game since a Week 10 triumph over the Houston Texans, but that hasn't stopped the locker room from having a positive attitude in pushing forward.

But a pair of Giants defenders, inside linebacker Tae Crowder and cornerback Rodarius Williams, have committed the ultimate no-no by taking to social media to air their frustrations over a lack of playing time.

Crowder, who lost his starting job after eight weeks and has seen his defensive snap count dwindle to nothing--his 26 snaps in the tie with Washington all came on special teams and posted "Free Me #TheReaper" on his Twitter account.

Cornerback Rodarius Williams, who, despite being active for Sunday's game, didn't even get on the field Sunday. He also took to Twitter to air his frustrations, saying, "Ima just sleep this off Bcus this can't be real rn" and adding a broken heart emoji.

Crowder's situation is no surprise, as his production has deteriorated this year. Per Pro Football Focus, he's only logged 28 tackles and 14 stops, but he leads the team with 13 missed tackles. He's also been poor in coverage this year, recording a 122.1 coverage rating thanks to allowing 15 of 19 pass targets to be completed for 173 yards (123 after the catch) and a touchdown.

Crowder, now in his third season, was replaced in the lineup by Jaylon Smith, who helped settle down that spot against the run and in coverage.

Williams' situation is a bit more of a headscratcher, considering he played well against Dallas the week prior. In 50 snaps, he registered one tackle and didn't allow a pass completion in two targets, instead coming up with an interception on one and a pass breakup on another.

Instead of going back to Williams, the coaches opted to play rookie Zyon Gilbert, elevated from the practice squad for the first time this season, ahead of him. Gilbert played in 56 of the Giants' 85 defensive snaps Sunday.

Head coach Brian Daboll said he's handling any type of grievances within the locker room privately, and would not even concede if he had fined the players.

When pressed about Williams, he said, "Each week, we sit down, we talk – the defensive guys and I, and we figure out who we think we want in there for that particular week. The guys that were in there this week were the guys we wanted in there."