Trio of Giants' Roster Cuts Find New NFL Homes Ahead of 2026 Season

For some NFL players, it's a tough reality when, after weeks of going through the grind of training camp and fighting to make plays to earn a spot on one of 32 rosters, they don't get the call into the head coach's office to hear that they made the final cut.

That was no different for John Harbaugh and the New York Giants, who had a strong 2-1 preseason in which many players stepped up and did enough to impress their coach and make a case to join his locker room for the 2026 campaign.

While it was a promising sign to see the Giants' brass assemble a ton of talent for Harbaugh to choose from, there are only 53 jobs to be had, and that means even some deserving names will have to search for their next gig in another city across the league.

In addition to Evan Neal, who landed on the Raiders practice squad, here are four other players who found new homes around the NFL.

ILB Darius Muasau

Once Muasau was released, the thought was that the Arizona Cardinals could come calling for his services due to his long-held ties to former Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial.

Instead, the Patriots snagged Muasau to add to the depth in their own linebackers room. Muasau is currently positioned as New England's No. 2 left-side middle linebacker behind Christian Elliss, a fifth-year pro who holds 174 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and three forced turnovers since taking over the role in 2023.

For Muasau, it just wasn't a strong preseason for the former sixth-round pick in a crowded linebackers room in New York. He only earned nine run defense snaps in three games and failed to record a single tackle.

He did play in the most special teams snaps (41) and logged the third-best grade on the team (80.7), but the fact that he was overshadowed in the defensive realm by some of the younger faces like Jack Kelly and Zaire Barnes sealed his fate after a down year in 2025 when he played in 12 games.

OL Jake Kubas

The Patriots didn't stop with picking up just one of the Giants' waived players: they also signed offensive lineman Jake Kubas to head coach Mike Vrabel's practice squad.

Kubas had been lingering on the team's practice squad over the past two seasons, but with a lack of depth at the guard positions, he had a chance to draw attention with a strong preseason.

That he did, as Kubas played in 104 total snaps, good for fifth-most on the Giants, and recorded both the second-best offensive grade and highest run-blocking grade (85.8) with only one pressure allowed in that span. His only caveat was that those numbers came mostly against opponents' second- and third-string offensive lines.

While a majority of his snaps came at left guard, the Giants elected to retain veteran Aaron Stinnie, who showed better strides in pass protection to serve as Jon Runyan's backup. Kubas has 73 career snaps on the right side, but his numbers clearly weren't enough to earn Harbaugh's trust.

Interestingly, the move left the Giants without a clear-cut option to back up rookie starter Francis Mauigoa. They did bring in two guards during the waiver period, meaning they'll likely elevate one of them to the active roster on game day to fill the void.

DE Khalid Kareem

Kareem was another one of the pleasant surprises during the preseason, but he was also let go last Sunday and subsequently picked up by the Atlanta Falcons, who added him to their practice squad.

The fifth-year pro out of Notre Dame was looking to stake his claim for a depth spot in the Giants' loaded pass rush. He was responsible for a handful of pressures in each of the three preseason games, but his best case came in the final week, when he tallied five pressures, including one sack and a hurry, against the Jets.

In total, Kareem made nine pressures, the most on the Giants' defense, and recorded a 20.5% pass rush win rate to earn a 73.0 pass rush grade that trailed only Trace Ford (74.7) along the edge.

With the pass rush being a strength on the Giants roster, the odds were stacked against Kareem to join the unit and get any serious reps behind established guys like Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

His chances of being elevated to the active roster and making a big contribution could be greater with Atlanta, who is dealing with a few key injuries in their outside linebackers room. They are also set to be without James Pearce Jr., their 2025 first-round pick and lead sack artist, as he is on the league's suspended list.

The Falcons owned the sixth-highest pass rush win rate as a team last season, and if they want to keep up with that rate in 2026, they'll need reinforcements. That was a big reason for snatching Kareem off waivers and giving him a chance to finally stick on an NFL roster.

OLB Caleb Murphy

Murphy was the most recent of the post-waiver wire transactions from Big Blue to find a new home, landing with the Los Angeles Chargers on the practice squad.

The former undrafted free agent out of Ferris State was also trying to get into a spot in the Giants' outside linebackers rotation, but ultimately fell out of his camp competition with fellow linebacker Trace Ford, whom New York released before adding back to their practice squad.

Murphy played in 83 total snaps during the preseason, including 39 in pass rush. He wasn't able to make much of an impact in that area, producing only one pressure in the Giants' Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins.

As a run defender, Murphy added three tackles (one solo), but he put up a goose egg in the preseason finale against the New York Jets. Meanwhile, Ford shined with five pressures, one sack, and four tackles at the line of scrimmage, which sealed Murphy's fate.

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