Antrel Rolle cried over Giants exit, says he ‘cannot be replaced’

Antrel Rolle admitted the thought of leaving a group that now must be described as his former teammates “made a 32-year old man cry’’ and acknowledged “the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life is leave the New York Giants.’’

For five years, Rolle called the Giants workplace his home, but he signed this week to play for the Bears.

“It doesn’t matter what uniform I’ll be wearing on Sunday, I have New York tattooed on my chest and that ain’t going anywhere,’’ Rolle said Friday on WFAN, the radio station that benefited from his candor and emotion in weekly Tuesday spots during the past seasons.

Rolle did not want to leave the Giants, but once free agency hit and he had not heard from the team, he knew he was headed elsewhere. Sure, that hurt, but Rolle signed a three-year, $11.25 million contract with the Bears and has not uttered a bad word about his former team.

“I wish everyone the best and I wish the New York Giants the best of the best,’’ Rolle said, “and I have all the confidence in the world in those guys there. I know they’ll be on top in no time.’’

Rather than air any bitterness, Rolle sounded nostalgic and appreciative of his stay with the Giants, generous with praise for several individuals in the building.
He saluted David Merritt, the coach in charge of safeties, former defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and former cornerback coach Pete Giunta. He lauded special assistant (and former Giants linebacker) Jessie Armstead – “Times when I felt like when I was just gonna go off at certain times, he was always a guy who talked to me, bring me down and just keep me calm’’ – and radio analyst (and former Giants linebacker) Carl Banks: “He’s been my mentor, he’s been that angel on my shoulder and he’s taught me to do things the right way, the Giants way.’’

Rolle even praised general manager Jerry Reese, who ultimately decided Rolle would not get a competitive offer to stay.

“Jerry Reese is a sharp guy,’’ Rolle said. “He’s involved in everything, from film watching to everything else. Jerry Reese knows how valuable I was to the defense. Everyone has a job to do. I’ve had several conversations with Jerry Reese, and maybe they wanted to go younger, I don’t know what there angle is.’’

Rolle choked up again when he brought up Tom Coughlin.

“More importantly, more than any one man, is coach Coughlin, that old man like that, he’s a one-of-a kind individual,’’ Rolle said. “It took a lot to get to the point where we are right now, man, and it’s like I told him yesterday, ‘Coach, when you get inducted into the Hall of Fame you better give me a call because I want to the right there up front and center.’’’

Rolle said he decided between the Bears and the Redskins and that he did not receive an offer from the Giants until he was about to sign in Chicago. There also was interest from the Jets, he said, but said it “would have been weird being in a Jets uniform.’’

A signal that he was headed to the Bears, Rolle said, came after he prayed for some guidance and was awakened in the middle of the night by an email alert from the travel website Orbitz offering discount fares to Chicago.

Rolle mentioned his age (32) several times as a reason some teams might not have shown interest, a reason he disdains. He called himself “a guy who has crazy, crazy amount of pride in himself and belief in himself, and even at the age of 32, I know there’s a million things I can do that 24-, 23-year-old guys can’t get done.’’
How do the Giants replace him?

“Antrel Rolle cannot be replaced in that defense,’’ he said. “But you can get someone to go in there and play ball and make plays and be a helluva player, 200 percent I don’t doubt that. But an Antrel Rolle will never be replaced in that secondary.’’

Though he won a Super Bowl with the Giants, Rolle said the most memorable highlight in his five years was the way the team held together in 2013 after the 0-6 start, rallying to finish that season 7-9.

“I mean, I think that was a true testament of brotherhood, a true testament about what it is to be a Giant, win, lose, or draw,’’ Rolle said. “We stood up, we stood together, we took some heavy, heavy punches and we stood up fighting and we finished it off strong. Those guys were phenomenal in that locker room, from Eli [Manning] all the way down, those guys are the real deal, man.’’


(nypost.com)