In a battle between winless teams on Sunday, the New York Giants fell to the San Diego Chargers, dropping their record to 0-5. With the team now virtually certain to miss the playoffs despite high expectations coming into the season, turmoil is beginning to set in—not just on the field, but also in the locker room. According to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has left the team and subsequently been suspended. This seems to have stemmed from conversations between Rodgers-Cromartie and head coach Ben Mcadoo.

What went down?

As Leonard put it, Rodgers-Cromartie and McAdoo "had a personal conversation, and on Wednesday morning, the veteran corner decided to leave the team." Leonard added that "the Giants will be suspending Rodgers-Cromartie but would not provide any other information."

Other reports suggest that the situation stemmed from DRC's role on the team.

Details at this time are scarce, but these reports seem to make sense.

Players are often willing to make sacrifices if they are resulting in wins for the team, but when an NFL team has yet to win a game by mid-October, frustration with a particular role can easily boil over into conflict.

Rodgers-Cromartie's role with the Giants

Rodgers-Cromartie is a big (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), long corner who has made two Pro Bowls over his nine full seasons in the NFL.

He has seen a lot, playing for four different teams over his NFL tenure and getting action in 10 playoff games, including a Super Bowl. Given all of that size and experience, he is well-suited to line up on the perimeter and match up with some of the league's best wide receivers.

The Giants, however, have been mostly employing DRC as a slot corner, instead giving perimeter duties to Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple.

Jenkins is more than deserving of matching up with opponents' top wideouts, as he is coming off a fantastic Pro Bowl season with the Giants and has always been a highly talented player, but Apple, a first-round pick (10th overall) of the Giants in 2016, still looks like a rookie in over his head.

Among 109 qualifying cornerbacks, Rodgers-Cromartie has Pro Football Focus' 30th-ranked grade, while Apple is ranked 101st, yet Apple (328 snaps) has still seen significantly more action than Rodgers-Cromartie (265).

DRC got the start for Apple in Week 5, manning the perimeter with Ross Cockrell in the slot while Apple spent the first few series on the sideline—a decision for which Apple voiced his displeasure.

Apple went back into the game after three series, however, and continued to play his typical role. It seems possible that despite Apple's struggles and Rodgers-Cromartie's strong play, the Giants could be looking to go back to Apple as a primary perimeter corner—for an 0-5 team, it's certainly common to give younger players more in-game reps, and Rodgers-Cromartie (31 years old) has nearly a decade on Apple (22).

Rodgers-Cromartie may be back soon

While DRC's departure will grab plenty of headlines today and has the look of frustration blowing up in an NFL locker room, his absence may be but a brief one.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Giants, who likely want to add stability to their locker room, will be willing to accept their veteran cornerback with open arms.
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