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March 3 (UPI) -- The New York Giants are releasing former Pro Bowl wide receiver Golden Tate after only two seasons. League sources told ESPN and NFL Media on Wednesday that New York also is cutting veteran linebacker David Mayo. Tate and Mayo each had two years remaining on their contracts.
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The departures of Tate and Mayo will save the Giants about $8.4 million in salary-cap space in 2021. According to Spotrac, Tate was scheduled to earn $8.5 million and count $11 million against the cap in the upcoming season.
The 32-year-old Tate had 35 receptions for 388 yards and two touchdowns in the 2020 campaign, his least productive season since his rookie year. He missed four games and started only four, as he served as the Giants' third wideout behind Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard.
The Seattle Seahawks selected Tate in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He spent four seasons in Seattle before joining the Detroit Lions in 2014.
After spending parts of five seasons with the Lions, Tate was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles midway through the 2018 campaign. He played eight games for the Eagles that year before jumping to the NFC East rival Giants in 2019.
Tate, a Pro Bowl selection in 2014 with the Lions, has recorded 695 catches for 8,278 yards and 46 touchdowns in his 11-year career.
Mayo, who was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft, had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee last summer, but he returned and appeared in 11 games this past season.
In two seasons with the Giants, Mayo tallied 111 total tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two passes defensed.
Mayo previously spent time with the Carolina Panthers (2015-18) and was on the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad in 2019.
