Top Five Most Surprising Giants Roster Cuts
With the 53-man roster cuts being made official on Tuesday, August 27th, the New York Giants had to make some decisions about who to keep and who to get rid of. There were plenty of controversies amongst these cuts about which position was going to have two, three, or even four guys. The Giants are the 20th-youngest team out of the 32-team National Football League, and there were plenty of veterans who had good camps. These are the top five most surprising roster cuts.
1. Lawrence Cager
After Darren Waller announced his retirement on June 9th, it was a bit confusing with how the Giants were going to manage this tight-end room. They had drafted Theo Johnson in the fourth round, still had Daniel Bellinger and Cager, as well as signing free agent tight ends Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz. Cager possessed some potential in his limited game time with 17 game appearances over his past two years with the Giants, he managed to rack in 17 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the Giants moved on from Stoll and Cager and will move forward with the three tight ends of Johnson, Bellinger, and Manhertz.
2. Dante Miller
Miller, known by his nickname “Turbo,” had all the hype surrounding him throughout camp and preseason. With the nickname came the speed he possessed, running a 4.27 40-yard dash at South Carolina. He was brought in as an undrafted free agent and through the Giants’ preseason games ran the ball 26 times for 108 yards. With the uncertainty of how this running back room will perform, it was expected the Giants would carry Miller for depth purposes. However, he was left off the initial 53-man roster.
3. Isaiah Hodgins
This move definitely gave a bunch of Giants fans some sad feelings as they will always remember Hodgins for his performance against the Minnesota Vikings in the 2022 NFL Playoffs. In that game, Hodgins had eight receptions for 105 yards and got in the end zone. Hodgins enjoyed his time on the Giants after Brian Daboll brought him over from the Bills where he had minimal performance due to lack of playing time. The Giants ended up keeping five receivers with return specialist Gunner Olszewski being listed as the sixth receiver on the roster.
4. Tre Herndon
The Giants do have one of the youngest defensive back rooms with the average age being just under 24. Herndon, at the age of 28, would’ve been the “veteran” of the Giants defensive back room with 83 games played in. He registered 243 tackles in the first six years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Giants now look to move in the direction of keeping the defensive back room ripe and young, and Herndon was not on that agenda.
5. Jakob Johnson
Johnson was a super late addition, being signed on August 16th and playing in the last two preseason games. Johnson was a part of the Giants’ new offensive line coach Cameron Bricillo with the Las Vegas Raiders last year, being used as a fullback/tight end in the Raiders blocking schemes. The Giants have been known to use tight ends previously with Henry Hynoski and Elijhaa Penny as two notable names. The Giants will move forward without one and having just three running backs but could be a potential suitor to acquire one in the future.
