New York Giants 53-man Roster Projection After Preseason Game 1

Who helped their cause in Saturday's preseason opener and who didn't? Here's an updated 53-man roster projection.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Updated:
Aug 16, 2021 4:11 PM EDT
Original:
Aug 16, 2021

There's still a lot of preseason left to go for the New York Giants, but with that said, the first round of roster cuts is fast approaching on August 17, when teams must trim their training camp rosters from 90 to 85.

When looking at this projection, one thing to remember is that the same roster rules are in place as last year. These include two gameday practice squad elevations, players placed on IR only needing to miss three weeks instead of six, and an unlimited number of players allowed to return from IR.

These rules allowed for a little greater flexibility on injured guys who are almost there but not quite there, and the rules also fit in with Joe Judge's practice this year of not rushing injured guys back before they're fully ready to return.

With that said, here's an updated look at an updated 53-man roster projection following the Giants' preseason Week 1 loss to the Jets.

Quarterbacks (2)

Roster: Daniel Jones, Mike Glennon, Clayton Thorson, Brian Lewerke
Who's In: Jones, Glennon
Who's Out: Thorson , Lewerke (PS)

Nothing has changed here as far as the pecking order is concerned. The only questions as of this writing is how badly injured Thorson is after absorbing a crushing blow in Saturday night's loss to the Jets, and if it was bad enough to knock him out of actin for a while.

Either way, the Giants will likely carry a third quarterback as their emergency, off-site player in the event of a COVID outbreak.

Running Back (4)

Roster: Saquon Barkley, Devontae Booker, Corey Clement, Alfred Morris, Gary Brightwell, Sandro Platzgummer
Who's In: Barkley, Booker, Clement, Morris
Who's Out: Brightwell (PS), Platzgummer (Roster Exemption)

This is Barkley's world when he's ready. The question is, who will carry the load until then?

Clement has had a better camp thus far than Booker, but a backbreaking fumble inside the 10-yard line against the Jets won't help him leapfrog ahead of Booker on the depth chart.

Both will probably make the roster, as will veteran Morris. Brightwell and Platzgummer will likely land on the practice squad--the Giants have another roster exemption for Platzgummer, the International Pathway Program player the Giants were assigned last year.

Fullback (1)

Roster: Elijhaa Penny, Cullen Gillaspia
Who's In: Penny
Who's Out: Gillaspia

Both players have received more opportunities with the ball in their hands. Still, there's just something about Penny, who took the majority of his snaps Saturday night from the halfback position, and how smooth he is as a receiver out of the backfield that might end up giving him the edge.

Tight End (4)

Current roster: Evan Engram, Kyle Rudolph, Kaden Smith, Nakia Griffin-Stewart, Rysen John, Cole Hikutini, Jake Hausmann
Who's In: Engram, Rudolph, Smith, Hikutini
Who's Out: Griffin-Stewart, John (PS), Hausmann (PS)

The longer Kyle Rudolph remains on the PUP list, the more likely the Giants won't have any choice but to carry an extra tight end on the roster at the expense of another receiver.

Even if Rudolph were to come off the PUP list in the coming week, it might not be a bad idea to carry an extra tight end anyway, just in case.

Meanwhile, Hikutini, who had been having a nice camp, suffered a hip injury, the severity of which is unknown. If it's not season-ending, he just might have the inside track on being the last tight end added to the roster.

Wide receiver (6)

Roster: Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, Kadarius Toney, John Ross, Dante Pettis, Austin Mack, C.J. Board, Alex Bachman, David Sills V, Matt Cole, Damion Willis
Who's In: Golladay, Slayton, Shepard, Toney, Ross, Board
Who's Out: Sills (PS), Mack (PS), Pettis, Cole (PS), Willis

For a while, the Giants seemed to be leaning heavily toward having Ross as their top kickoff returner, but Ross didn't play Saturday, presumably because he's nursing a hamstring issue. So the Giants turned to C.J. Board as a return specialist, a role he added to his gunner work and an assignment he performed well.

I gave serious consideration to project seven at this spot to keep Sills, especially with Toney nursing an unknown ailment. The problem is with the injuries at tight end and offensive line, carrying seven receivers seems like a bit of a luxury I don't think the Giants can afford at the moment.

When it came down to Board vs. Sills for the final spot, I went with the guy who is a little more established on special teams--for now. The only other way I thought of sliding Sills onto the roster is at the expense of Ross, but this is another situation where I cold use some more information on Ross's health status to provide clarity.

Offensive line (9)

Roster: Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux, Nick Gates, Will Hernandez, Matt Peart, Jonotthan Harrison, Nate Solder, Chad Slade, Kyle Murphy, Kenny Wiggins, Jackson Barton, Brett Heggie, Jake Burton, Ted Larsen
Who's In: Thomas, Lemieux, Gates, Hernandez, Peart, Solder, Larsen, Murphy (See Update below.)
Who's Out: Heggie (PS), Burton, Harrison, Wiggins (PS), Slade

This position group is the most difficult to call because it's all but guaranteed that at least one member of the depth brigade is not yet on the roster and could be one of those late training camp cuts that usually pop up.

Regardless, it would be surprising if the Giants carry any number less than nine on the 53-man roster, with at least two players hitting the practice squad. The injury situation is muddying up the projection here--Murphy has an ankle sprain, and Wiggins was also dinged.

If I'm the Giants, I think I take my chances with trying to stash Wiggins to the practice squad over Murphy, assuming both their respective injuries aren't major ones that will keep them sidelined for weeks.

Update: Murphy has been placed on injured reserve after this article dropped. I wouldn't be surprised if a veteran is coming in the next day or two.

Defensive Line (5)

Roster: Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence II, B.J. Hill, Danny Shelton, Austin Johnson, David Moa, Willie Henry, Elijah Qualls
Who's In: Williams, Lawrence, Hill, Shelton, Johnson
Who's Out: Moa (PS), Henry, Qualls (PS)

Not a whole lot to see here as far as competition for roster spots, other than for which two players might potentially land on the practice squad, health permitting.

Edge (5)

Roster: Lorenzo Carter, Azeez Ojulari, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Ryan Anderson, Oshane Ximines, Elerson Smith, Cam Brown, Niko Lalos, Trent Harris, Raymond Johnson III
Who's In: Carter, Ojulari, Odenigbo, Lalos, Brown
Who's Out: Anderson, Smith (IR), Johnson (PS), Harris (PS)

This position group is tough to call because of the injuries. Carter should be back soon, and Ximines continues to ramp up his workload since returning from PUP a week ago.

Ojulari and Odenigbo should both be locks. I'm inclined to keep Lalos on the roster over rookie Elerson, who has missed a lot of time due to a hamstring strain and who I might consider moving to IR since players can be brought back from IR after three weeks.

Linebacker (4)

Roster: Blake Martinez, Tae Crowder, Reggie Ragland, Devante Downs, T.J. Brunson, Carter Coughlin
Who's In: Martinez, Crowder, Coughlin, Ragland
Who's Out: Brunson (IR), Downs

The only significant competition of note here is who will start alongside Martinez in the base defense, Crowder or Coughlin or a combination of the two.

Crowder is a little better in coverage, but Coughlin has been making some impressive plays out there, especially earlier in camp when he filled in for Martinez.

Brunson, unfortunately, suffered the season-ending torn ACL. He might have found life on the practice squad had he not gotten injured, but for now, he'll focus on getting his knee fixed so he can compete next year.

Cornerback (6)

Roster: Sam Beal, James Bradberry, Darnay Holmes, Adoree’ Jackson, Jarren Williams, Quincy Williams, Aaron Robinson, Rodarius Williams, Madre Harper, Isaac Yiadom, Joshua Kalu, Chris Milton
Who's In: Bradberry, Jackson, Holmes, R. Williams, Harper, Yiadom
Who's Out: Robinson (PUP), Beal (PS), Q. Williams, J. Williams (IR), Kalu (IR), Milton

The longer Robinson, the rookie, sits on PUP, the more time he's missing. While starting the season on PUP would mean he'd have to miss at least six weeks, this situation is almost similar to what the Giants went through with Xavier McKinney last year.

McKinney, remember, suffered a broken foot late in camp that landed him on IR for most of the year. McKinney was still able to return to action later in the season to get his feet wet. So if Robinson can't pass a physical by the time camp ends, the inactive/PUP list is the next logical step.

Beal is something of an enigma. He's far too talented to cast aside, so might the Giants try to slide him down to the practice squad where he would have a chance to make up for all the practice reps he lost last year and for all those times he's been on IR?

It might be worth the gamble as Beal, who could be facing league discipline related to his gun charges from last year, probably wouldn't be poached by another team until that red tape is sorted out.

Update: The Giants acquired Keion Crossen via trade from the Texans which will affect the numbers at this position. I'll have one more attempt at a 53-man roster after the final preseason game.

Safety (4)

Roster: Logan Ryan, Jabrill Peppers, Xavier McKinney, Julian Love, Montre Hartage, Chris Johnson
Who's In: Ryan, Peppers, McKinney, Love
Who's Out: Johnson, Hartage (PS)

The name of the game is versatility, and the Giants safeties offer versatility in droves. If this group stays healthy, it is the unquestioned strength of the team.

Special Teams (3)

Roster: PK Graham Gano, PK Ryan Santoso, P Riley Dixon, LS Casey Kreiter, LS Carson Tinker
Who's In: Gano, Kreiter, Dixon
Who's Out: Tinker, Santoso

I briefly flirted with the idea of keeping Santoso on the roster to serve as a kickoff specialist because as good as Gano was last year to earn that contract extension, the Giants still finished 31st in the league in touchback percentage (40.54%).

But again, injuries will make keeping an extra kicker a luxury the Giants can't afford. However, I could see them potentially trying to engineer a cutdown trade for Santoso for a conditional draft pick on Day 3 next year.