Preston Parker Cut by Giants, Kenrick Ellis Signed: Latest Comments and Reaction

The New York Giants announced the release of veteran wide receiver Preston Parker on Tuesday. They signed defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis to take his place on the 53-man roster.

Art Stapleton of the Record reports the move is a sign Victor Cruz is continuing to make positive strides toward a potential Week 4 return from a calf injury. He also provided comments from head coach Tom Coughlin about whether the roster move was done to make a statement given the team's struggles, which have led to an 0-2 start.

"I'll leave that up to you," Coughlin said.  

Parker played in all 16 games for the Giants last year, making 36 catches and scoring two touchdowns. He also made an impact on special teams by returning kicks and punts.

He had several notable drops in the first two games this season, however. He admitted his mistake after letting a fourth-down throw slip through his hands in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons, per Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News.

"You've got to come up with that," Parker said. "You've got to come up with that."

Letting him go amid the offense's struggles certainly seems like an attempt at a wake-up call from Coughlin. The unit is tied for 17th in the league at 338.5 yards per game after finishing 10th last year.

The Giants originally signed Ellis, who spent four years with the crosstown New York Jets, during the offseason.

He'll provide depth at tackle with the team battling several injuries at the position with a Thursday night game against the Washington Redskins looming, as noted by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. He had 53 combined tackles in 47 games with the Jets.

Cruz will eventually fill the third receiver role alongside Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle. That said, he's not ready quite yet, and it will take some time for him to get back up to full speed. That puts the onus on Dwayne Harris to step up in the meantime.

Thanks to his versatility, Parker has a good chance to land elsewhere, with other teams looking to fill voids as injuries arise. He'll need to put those drop issues behind him to stick with a team, though.