Former New York Giants offensive lineman Bobby Hart said the reason he didn’t play in the regular season finale against the Washington Redskins because of an ankle injury,
Hart reportedly told the Giants he wouldn’t play against the Redskins, which apparently rubbed general manager Dave Gettleman the wrong way. Gettleman placed Hart on waivers prior to the Redskins game with his official release happening after Super Bowl LII.
It didn’t take Hart long to find his next NFL home. Hart signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday. He praised his new employer while taking some parting shots at the Giants via the Bengals’ website.
“It’s frustrating seeing all those things about you that you know are not true,” Hart said, via the Bengals website. “The main thing I took from (Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis) is he’s not just blowing smoke. You can just feel the genuine aspect coming from him. When you get labelled those things, you kind of start to develop a wall, a shield where you block people out and don’t let people in. But when you talk to him and you feel how genuine he is, that wall just comes down. You just listen to him and you can feel he cares.”
Lewis sounded equally happy to have Hart on the Bengals roster.
“Bobby is a young player with three years of NFL experience, and he has very good upside and tools,” Lewis said. “We are excited to add him to the team as we improve our offensive line. The offensive line is a focus area for us, and this is one of various steps we are taking to improve our performance.”
Hart was selected with the 226th overall pick (seventh round) in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Florida State. He played in 34 games with 21 starts in his three seasons with the Giants. Hart began 2017 as the team’s starting right tackle but lost his position after two games. He returned to the starting lineup later in the season.
Hart’s performance on the field left much to be desired. His conduct, at times, didn’t endear him to teammates as well.
Hart was busy having fun in the Giants locker room only steps away from where an emotional Eli Manning was meeting with reporters, explaining that he wouldn’t be starting against in the Week 13 game against the Oakland Raiders. Two weeks later, against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, Hart flapped his wings to mock them. The Giants were 2-12 after the 39-24 loss.
Hart also got into a Twitter beef with former Giants offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz after he was waived. He admitted that he quit on the team, saying to Schwartz, “You quit on the team my rookie year after you secured your guaranteed money bro. Maybe I learned shutting it down from you.”
Hart joins a Bengals offensive line group that allowed 39 sacks of quarterback Andy Dalton in 2017, sixth most in the NFL.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
