Three Snubs From Giants' Initial 53-Man Roster

Following a 2-1 effort in the NFL preseason slate, the New York Giants' coaching staff went into the judge's chambers and reached a verdict on the final 53 players who made the cut to become a part of head coach John Harbaugh's first roster in East Rutherford.

While most of the players chosen to take the field in Week 1 donning the blue certainly deserved the nod, there are often a few extra names that fell short of the list despite making a strong case to swing the franchise's opinions in their favor.

Here are a few players who received the bad news, but in our honest opinion, might have been snubbed.

OLB Trace Ford

New York Giants linebacker Trace Ford | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After seeing Ford's impressive outing in the last preseason contest against the New York Jets, it felt like the undrafted rookie had put the finishing touches on his candidacy for the Giants' 53-man roster and would be a depth contributor to the team's pass-rushing operation.

On the other hand, the Giants, whose defense is built to play with speed and physicality along the front seven under defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, elected to go with just three faces in the outside linebackers room: Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Ford ended his fight with a strong three-week window, earning the fourth-best defensive grade (82.3) and the second-best pass rush grade by generating one sack, four tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, two pass deflections, and eight pressures— also second on the team.

One has to wonder if the Giants opted for an extra weapon in the middle to help improve their run defense, a glaring issue from the 2025 season, and thus chose to retain an extra inside linebacker in Zaire Barnes, who was among the better run defenders in the preseason.

Still, Ford really flashed this summer, and if he doesn't get snatched up by another team via waivers, the Giants would be smart to retain him on the practice squad for potential edge reinforcements.

WR Dalen Cambre

New York Giants wide receiver Dalen Cambre | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This was Cambre's second summer with the Giants, and his quest to earn a spot in the team's loaded wide receiver room ended with a strong preseason resume that led the position group in production.

Cambre was all but perfect on the offensive side of the ball, hauling in all seven of his targets for 79 yards and an average of 11.3 yards per catch. Despite being a smaller receiver, he showed he can make plays on the perimeter, including two long balls of 20 yards against the Vikings and Jets, respectively.

There was also the thought that Cambre could make the roster by contributing to the special teams department, where he graded ninth-highest on the team with a pair of tackles on the kickoff and punt coverage units.

Again, the receiver position group has had a crowded pecking order all summer, and Cambre had an uphill battle even to make the bottom half of the depth chart.

He still showed he could come in and make some sneaky plays when an opposing defense least expects him, and so it wouldn't be a total surprise to see another franchise try to steal him away before the Giants could sneak him back onto the practice squad.

WR Braxton Berrios

New York Giants wide receiver Braxton Berrios | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The battle between Berrios and Xavier Gipson was mostly split during the preseason, but the former was able to distance himself with a 39-yard kick return and a pair of catches for 54 yards and a touchdown in the final game against the Jets.

Berrios didn't flash as much on the receiving end, catching just two of six targets for 24 yards in 23 offensive snaps. He wasn't awful in the third phase either, posting an average of 13.3 yards per punt return that was good for second-best on the team.

There could have been a world where the Giants kept both Berrios and Gipson on the 53-man roster, but, interestingly, they went with the extra tight end, retaining second-year player Thomas Fidone II, who was mostly a non-factor in his rookie season due to a foot injury.

Fidone caught five of seven targets for 34 yards and graded well as a pass blocker in his limited action, so the Giants must believe he could hold a role in certain formations within their offense to steal a spot away from an extra special teams option in Berrios.

This “snub,” however, might be short-lived, as the Giants reportedly plan to bring Berrios back onto the roster once they resolve other areas still needing attention.

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