Former safety Donte Whitner: 'I'd cut Jameis Winston' after unique cadence in Giants' loss to Commanders

New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston went viral during Thursday night's home game versus the Washington Commanders when he yelled lyrics to the well-known "Who Let the Dogs Out" song in an attempt to get a Washington defensive player to jump offside on a fourth-and-1 from the Giants' 11-yard line when New York held a 21-17 lead with under four minutes remaining in regulation.

The ploy didn't work, but many members of the NFL community nevertheless found Winston's antics to be hilarious. During Friday's edition of ESPN's "Get Up" program, former NFL safety and current analyst Donte Whitner made it clear he wasn't amused by Winston's hard count.

Was Jameis Winston more worried about going viral than helping the Giants win?  

"I'd cut Jameis Winston this morning," Whitner directly said. "It was so unrealistic. You have 10 other guys out there and guys on defense that's busting their butt every week, and it's very hard and difficult to win a game in the National Football League. ...First and foremost, whoever says, 'Hut one, Hut two, Hut three?' That's 1950s football, right? And then when you go into the 'Who Let the Dogs Out' by the Baha Men. Are you serious? He's clearly just trying to go viral on social media while they're trying to win a football game. He [should get] his pink slip this morning."

Winston was in the game over starter J.J. McCarthy in that moment because Giants head coach John Harbaugh has used the veteran for quarterback-sneak plays throughout the season. After New York's loss, Harbaugh insisted he "knew" what Winston was going to say and that the yells were "part of the cadence." 

"Teams do jump in those situations sometimes," Harbaugh added. "That was the idea."

Donte Whitner not laughing about latest Jameis Winston moment 

The Giants were guilty of numerous mistakes that had nothing to do with the much-discussed Winston moment. That said, Whitner clearly believes Big Blue wasted an opportunity by allowing Winston to use his humorous cadence. 

"I didn't find it funny," Whitner continued. "Because as a defense, and you're up there at the line of scrimmage, we have a call called 'earmuffs.' So if the quarterback comes up there -- Aaron Rodgers, and he gives, 'Hut,' and it's realistic -- you might get the defense to jump. When you get up there, and you say, 'Hut one, hut two, hut three,' we know that you're not serious."

For what it's worth, there was no indication as of Friday morning that Harbaugh plans to cut Winston before the 5-3-1 Giants host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 22. 6-2 Jacksonville plays at the 1-7 Tennessee Titans this coming Sunday.