Justin Tuck thought it would make a difference, the way he carried himself, the way he represented the New York Giants, the way he comported himself on the field and in the locker room as a team captain, the way he lived and breathed how he figured the Giants wanted him to live and breathe.
Yet, when it came time to extend his career with the Giants, they turned a cold shoulder to him, which is why he’s now a new defensive end for the Raiders.
“I’m really not mad, I’m surprised,’’ Tuck told The Post on Friday. “I think everybody who knows me knows I try to do things the right way, I’ve tried to do things the so-called ‘Giant Way’ and I thought that meant something. I’m frustrated and a little puzzled to realize in the end it really didn’t. Or it didn’t mean as much to them as I thought it should have. They made a tough decision to part ways with me and I made the right decision to go somewhere else.’’
The decision came down on Thursday, when Tuck put pen to paper on a two-year, $11 million contract to trade Giants blue for Raiders silver and black. Realistically, Tuck believes, the decision came weeks earlier, when it became clear to him he was not part of the Giants’ future plans.
At his exit meeting with the Giants after this past season, Tuck said co-owner John Mara made a request: When you get an offer in free agency please give us the chance to match it.
And so, as promised, when Tuck, after getting wined and dined in Oakland, received the offer from the Raiders, he called Mara’s cell phone.
“The conversation went like this,’’ Tuck said. “I said ‘Mr. Mara, this is what’s going on, I’m on the verge of signing with Oakland. I promised you I would let you have the last say-so.’ He said ‘I appreciate it, I’ll talk to Jerry and we’ll call your agent.’ ’’
Tuck didn’t need the Giants to match the Raiders dollar for dollar, but he did need them to come closer.
Ten minutes later, with Tuck in the room in Oakland, the call came in from Kevin Abrams, the Giants’ assistant general manager.
“He said they’re not budging on their original offer,’’ Tuck recounted. “I said, ‘Thank you for nine years.’ ’’
And so, Tuck is now a member of Raider Nation, something he is getting used to and about which he said he’s excited. But you can hear the hurt in his voice.
“Listen, I don’t want people to think I’m bitter, I don’t want to bad-mouth the Giants, I just want people to know I’m very appreciative of nine years being there, it didn’t work out in the end to retire a Giants as I wanted,’’ Tuck said. “Am I disappointed? Sure I am. But I’ve had so many great moments in a Giants uniform to bad-mouth them or to be upset how things went down.’’
The Giants’ only offer to Tuck was in the two-year, $6 million range, an offer Tuck believes the Giants knew would be beaten on the open market. That clued him in that he wasn’t going to get to play a 10th season for the Giants.
Perhaps the Giants are saving their cap space to make a run at cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who has a visit scheduled if the Jets don’t sign him first.
“The Giants pretty much made up my mind for me as far as I wasn’t a part of their plans at all,’’ Tuck said.
It is clear to Tuck the Giants do not think he has much left to offer on the football field.
“They’re scouts so they know what’s best,’’ Tuck said dryly, alluding to Reese, who came up through the ranks as a scout. “It’s my position now to prove them wrong.’’
In the first 24 hours, Tuck said he had heard from plenty of former Giants teammates, staff members, a few assistant coaches. He said he spoke with coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning.
“I don’t feel like they owed me anything,’’ Tuck said. “If Coach wants to reach out and call me, that’s fine. If Eli wants to reach out and call me that’s fine.’’
One day next week, Tuck said, he’ll make a final visit to the Giants training facility to say his proper goodbyes.
As far as how much left he has as a player, Tuck said, “I’ll be the one to prove them not right.’’