Giants Sign Kicker Ryan Santoso, Receiver Travis Toivonen; Release Safety Andrew Adams

The New York Giants have brought back a couple of familiar faces for a second go-round with the team while releasing another player on his second stint in blue.

Kicker Ryan Santoso and receiver Travis Toivonen were signed as free agents, and safety Andrew Adams, who was signed on July 25, was released.

Santoso spent the 2020 season with the Giants after signing their practice squad on September 6, 2020. He was promoted to the active roster on November 17, 2020, when kicker Graham Gano was placed on the reserve/COVID19 list, but Gano cleared protocols in time, and Santoso was waived and then re-signed to the practice squad.

The Giants traded Santoso to the Panthers last year for a conditional draft pick, but Santoso didn't last the requisite four games for the Giants to get the pick.

The addition of Santoso suggests that Gano, who suffered a concussion in last week's win over the Cincinnati Bengals, still hasn't cleared the concussion protocol.

New York also brought back receiver Travis Toivonen. Toivonen was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Seahawks last year but didn't make their 53-man roster. He landed on the Giants' practice squad on October 19, 2021, was released on November 2, and was re-signed to the practice squad on December 8, 2021.

Before landing in the NFL, Toivonen was a four-year starter at North Dakota. In 42 games, he caught 139 passes for 1,719 yards and 13 touchdowns, posting career-highs during his senior campaign in 2019, with 48 catches, 1,719 yards, and seven touchdowns.

Toivonen was waived earlier in camp to free up space for the team's additions of receiver Marcus Kemp, offensive lineman Kamaal Seymour, and defensive lineman Nick Williams.

Adams, who was on his second tour of duty with the Giants, spent last season with the Eagles and Bucs. He proved to be valuable depth during the summer, especially after rookie draft pick Dane Belton suffered a broken collarbone that forced him to miss much of training camp.

But with Belton on the mend--he has a strong chance of being ready for the first week of the regular season--and with the emergence of the young safeties, in particular Trenton Thompson, the 29-year-old Adams became expendable.

Adams originally signed with them as an undrafted free agent out of UConn following the 2016 draft. Adams didn't make the 53-man roster as a rookie but was signed to the practice squad.

After a couple of weeks, Adams was eventually promoted to the 53-man roster and appeared in 14 games with 13 starts as a rookie, finishing with one interception, five pass breakups, and 46 tackles on defense.

Adams, who also is a solid special teams performer, won a Super Bowl with the Bucs, for whom he played the 2019-2020 seasons.

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