Giants Sign Tashawn Bower, Cut Elerson Smith and Trenton Thompson

Tashawn Bower – © USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants continue to tweak their roster with players arriving for summer training camp. The team signed unrestricted free agent outside linebacker Tashawn Bower (Las Vegas Raiders) and have waived/failed physical outside linebacker Elerson Smith and waived safety Trenton Thompson.

The 28-year old, 6’5”, 250-pound Bower originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Vikings (2017-2019, 2021),  New England Patriots (2019-2021), and Las Vegas Raiders (2022). Bower has played in 26 regular season games with three starts, accruing 23 tackles, two sacks, and one pass defense. His three starts came with New England in 2020.

The Giants placed Smith on Injured Reserve in mid-December 2022 due to bone spurs near his Achilles’ that required surgery. This was the fourth time in his two seasons with the team that Smith landed on Injured Reserve. Smith was placed on Injured Reserve in late August 2022 with a foot injury and was activated off of IR in late October. He played in five games in 2022, accruing just three tackles. He also blocked a punt.

The Giants drafted Smith in the 4th round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The Giants placed Smith on Injured Reserve in early September 2021 with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss all of training camp and the preseason. He was activated from Injured Reserve to the 53-man roster in early November. The team placed him on Injured Reserve again in early January 2022 with a neck injury. As a rookie, Smith played in eight games with no starts, finishing with just eight tackles, two quarterback hits, and one forced fumble.

The Giants signed Thompson as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft. Thompson played in one regular-season game, exclusively on special teams.