Justin Tuck joins Leonard Marshall in Giants’ retirement club
Justin Tuck of the New York Giants looks on against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on Dec. 8, 2013 in San Diego. Credit: Getty Images / Jeff Gross
SAN FRANCISCO — Leonard Marshall is welcoming Justin Tuck to the club of revered Super Bowl-winning Giants defensive linemen. He hopes Tuck feels similar to the way he did when he retired after the 1994 season.
“Whenever you leave the game, it’s a sad thing,” Marshall told Newsday on Monday while at the Super Bowl. “You always yearn for it. I’m happy I left on my terms. I won my championships, played in three Pro Bowls, had a lot of fun. Played with the greatest linebacker who ever played the game in Lawrence Taylor, dressed next to the guy for 11 seasons. I had nothing to look back on and regret. I hope he leaves the game with the same peace.”
Marshall, like Tuck, played most of his career with the Giants but finished elsewhere. In Marshall’s case, it was with the Jets and Washington. Tuck spent two seasons with the Raiders.
“I felt he had at least one or two more seasons in him,” Marshall said of Tuck’s play when he was not re-signed by the Giants after the 2013 season. “Unfortunately, the injuries caught up with him and they didn’t think he’d be able to respond to the challenges of playing in a defensive scheme at a high level in New York.
“Justin is a guy who I felt didn’t get his just due in New York.”
Now that he’s retired, perhaps that will change. And maybe both will end up in the team’s Ring of Honor.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
