Ex-Giants OL Justin Pugh offers great advice for players who get cut

Following their preseason finale on Saturday night, the New York Giants began trimming their roster on Sunday as the coaching staff works to reach the 53-man limit by Tuesday’s 4:00 p.m. ET deadline.

Of course, once they get down to 53 players, there will likely still be some roster shuffling as waiver claims and fresh signings are made across the league. General manager Joe Schoen will certainly be in on all of that.

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With cuts happening across the NFL, former Giants offensive lineman Justin Pugh, who recently expressed interest in a reunion, took to Twitter to share some advice for players getting cut across the league.

“Cut day is here in the NFL. 1,500 men lose their careers this week. No work experience and nowhere to turn. To those men you have two choices right now,” Pugh tweeted. “1. Have a pity party and tell everyone how you got screwed and should still be in the league. 2. Pick yourself up and get to work. You can still train in case you get a call but odds are it isn’t coming.

“This is your wake-up call. You have ‘NFL player’ appeal for the next few months…leverage it! Start cold emailing friends/family (and) teammates/CEOs/Alumni and ask to come in and shadow them. Start learning what career could be next! This will give you purpose on top of training. Let’s work physically and mentally! Reach out if you’re stuck and don’t know where to start.”

Pugh was, of course, drafted by the Giants in 2013 (19th overall) and then signed with the Arizona Cardinals following his rookie deal.

Although Pugh has never fallen victim to roster cuts, he has been around the game long enough to have teammates who have gone through the process.

Roster trims are an unfortunate part of the NFL business that often gets overlooked with excitement building for the start of the regular season.