Keeping Track of NY Giants Practice Squad/Waiver Wire Additions

The New York Giants are expected to add some new faces to their roster less than one day after setting their inital 53-man roster.

The New York Giants are expected to make some tweaks to their 53-man roster. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The hard part of building the 2025 roster is in the books for the New York Giants, who now move on to the next phase: building out their 17-man practice squad and awaiting word on which waiver claims were successful.

Word will start to trickle in about all that beginning at noon eastern, but here’s a quick primer on what to expect.

Of the 17 practice squad slots available, six can be devoted to veterans with four or more years of experience. In the past, this was not allowed, as the practice squad was for unvested players who were still in the early years of their careers.

One spot may be reserved for a player from the International Pathway Program. Teams get an exemption on such a player, so expect kicker Jude McAtamney to get this spot if he’s not claimed. 

Per the NFL CBA, (Article 33, Section 2. Signing With Other Clubs), “Any player under contract to a Club as a Practice Squad player shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club at any time during the League Year, to serve as a player on any Club’s Active or Inactive List, and any Club is completely free to negotiate and sign such a Player Contract with such player, without penalty or restriction.” 

Practice squad players with less than four years of accrued experience will earn a minimum of $13,000 per week, unless otherwise negotiated. Those with more than four years of experience will earn a minimum of $17,500 and a maximum of $22,000. That money will all count against a team’s salary cap.

Keep it here as we’ll update the Giants' practice squad additions as they become known.

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Practice Squad Additions

(The following were confirmed by Giants general manager Joe Schoen.)

RB Dante Miller

Turbo managed to clear waivers, so he's been added back to the team's practice squad where he'll continue to work on his craft and await another opportunity.

DL Elijah Chatman

The scappy Chatman, who lost his roster spot after the Giatns added defensive line depth in the offseason, cleared waivers and joint the team's practice squad. Chatman has the physical ability to do the job, but will continue working to gain the experience and fine tune his game.

WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey

Humphrey has nice size and size to his game which makes him a nie add. He caught six of eight pass targets for 94 yards and a touchdown this summer, and won on two of three contested catches. But he also only managed to force one missed tackle and

OLB Trace Ford 

Ford produced the most quarterback pressures of any Giants defender this pre-season, while holding up very well to the physical demands of the edge player.  If there’s somebody getting up from the bottom of a pile, it’s usually Ford.  

He was not only physical at the point of contact, he was a great backside pursuer with potential worth developing.

CB Dee Williams

Williams  offers depth on both special teams (as a returner) and on defense. He finished the preseason with 85 snaps, four tackles, one stop, and having allowed a 44.4% completion rate on pass targets against him.

S Raheem Layne

Another man brought back from the final cut list, Layne was on the Giants roster for the final stages of last season before enduring a torn meniscus in the latter of two regular season showings. He put up five tackles in the preseason trio.

G Jake Kubas

Kubas was a mainstay on last year's practice squad after joining last year as an undrafted rookie out of North Dakota State. He appeared in five regular season games, starting three prior to his release earlier this week.

OL Bryan Hudson

The Giants retained further blocking depth by re-adding the Louisville product Hudson back to the practice squad. He was signed by the Giants late last season after he was waived by New England and was retained on a reserve/future contract.

K Jude McAtamney (IPP Exemption)

The Northern Ireland native and Rutgers alum will remain on the Giants via the international exemption. McAtamney impressed as the Giants' summer leg while holding down the fort for Graham Gano, converting two triple tries and 11 of his extra points as the offense kept him busy.

DL Elijah Garcia

Garcia made five late showings for the Giants last season and put up 14 tackles (2 for a loss) and forced a fumble in that span while adding six more this preseason.

LB Tomon Fox

Lawrence Taylor's linebacker successor at North Carolina has been a bit of a staple within the Giants' system since 2022 and it appears his tour will continue on the practice squad. This time around, Fox put up eight tackles and a sack.

WR/KR Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Back for a second season and having earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors last Week 17, Smith-Marsette lost the returner's job to Gunner Olszewski. He earned two receptions on seven yards over this most recent preseason run.

DT Jordon Riley

Having earned strong reviews for his offseason work, Riley returned to the Giants' summer affairs and put up four tackles and a sack this time around.

OL Bryan Hudson

Hudson had a solid preseason showing as a third-string interior offensive lineman, and thus will get a chance to continue his Giants development on the team's practice squad.

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Waiver Wire Transactions

S Beau Brade

Safety Beau Brade | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Brade signed as an undrafted free agent with the Ravens last year out of Maryland. He appeared in 11 games, and registered just three tackles as a rookie,

This past preseason, he appeared in three games, 82 defensive snaps total, and registered zero pressures, nine tackles, and two stops. 

He also allowed five out six pass targets to be complete for 44 yards, zero touchdowns. He registered one pass breakup for a 97.2 NFL coverage rating.

"Beau Brade is a player out of Maryland that we spent some time with coming out in the draft, and we liked,” general manager Joe Schoen said Wednesday.

“He played on special teams for them last year. He also can be a depth safety for us. So high character kid, smart, tough, dependable, checked all those boxes and  can also participate on special teams.

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CB Rico Payton

Cornerback Rico Payton | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Payton originally signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh State in 2024. Last year with the Saints, he appeared in 16 games, logging 11 tackles, all on special teams.

This past summer, he appeared in the first two preseason games (47 snaps total) and had two tackles, one stop, and allowed just one of three pass targets against him to be completed.

"He's a really good special teams player and we also think he has defensive value,” Schoen said.

Transactions

To make room for the two new waiver write additions, the Giants have waived cornerback Korie Black, their seventh-round pick this year, and veteran Gunner Olszewski.

However, there stands a good chance that oen or both will be signed to the practice squad on Thursday, as the Giants have three open spots left.

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