Sources: Giants releasing veteran G Glowinski

INDIANAPOLIS — The New York Giants are releasing veteran guard Mark Glowinski after two seasons with the team, sources told ESPN.

The move will save the Giants $5.7 million against the salary cap. He was scheduled to count $7.2 million against the cap this season.

It was an expected move after Glowinski lost his starting job following a rough start to the 2023 season. He still started six games and a total of 22 in his two years with the team.

Glowinski, 31, was one of the bigger free agent signings in the first offseason under general manager Joe Schoen. The Giants signed him to a three-year, $20 million deal to be a starting guard as they tried to rebuild their offensive line.

It didn’t work. The Giants’ line was a liability this past season, when they allowed a league-high 85 sacks.

It was hardly just Glowinski. He was benched early in the season for second-year guard Marcus McKethan. That experiment didn’t last long either, and the Giants had to sign veteran Justin Pugh “straight off the couch” to help stabilize the line. They also couldn’t overcome the loss of left tackle Andrew Thomas, who missed eight games with a hamstring injury.

Pugh and veteran guard Ben Bredeson are also free agents. The Giants are expected to look at signing a second-tier starting guard in free agency, per multiple sources.

Glowinski has started 96 career games in nine seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts and Giants. But he was benched after two weeks this past season.

Glowinski served as a fill-in the remainder of the season, when his performance improved significantly. He finished with a more than respectable 92.8 pass block win rate, which would have ranked 21st among all guards had he played enough snaps to qualify.