Sep 282022
 
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants (September 26, 2022)

Saquon Barkley – © USA TODAY Sports

GIANTS PLACE STERLING SHEPARD ON IR, PROMOTE FABIAN MOREAU…
As expected, the New York Giants have placed wide receiver Sterling Shepard on Injured Reserve. Sterling tore the ACL in his left knee against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday. To fill his roster spot, the Giants signed cornerback Fabian Moreau to the 53-man roster from the Practice Squad. Moreau was temporarily elevated to the active roster for the past two games.

The Giants signed Moreau to the Practice Squad in early September. The 6’0”, 204-pound Moreau was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He has spent time with Washington (2017-2020), Atlanta Falcons (2021), and Houston Texans (2022). The Texans released him in August. Moreau has played in 78 regular-season games with 34 starts. In 2021, he started all 16 games for the Falcons and finished the season with 61 tackles, 11 pass defenses, and one fumble recovery.

On Tuesday, the Giants waived RB Antonio Williams. The Giants signed Williams in January 2022 to a reserve/future contract. The 5’11”, 215-pound Williams was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Bills after the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent most of his two seasons with the Bills on their Practice Squad.

The Giants still have one spot open on their 53-man roster.

PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES…
In addition to promoting cornerback Fabian Moreau to the 53-man roster from the Practice Squad, the Giants also terminated the Practice Squad contract of LB Charles Wiley on Tuesday. The 6’2”, 251-pound Wiley was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft. The Ravens cut Wiley in late August 2022.

The Giants also signed WR Makai Polk and CB Olaijah Griffin to the Practice Squad on Wednesday.

The 21-year old, 6’3”, 197-pound Polk was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Baltimore Ravens after the 2022 NFL Draft. The Ravens waived him in late August. Polk was on the Practice Squad of the Ravens until they cut him on Tuesday.

The Giants claimed Olaijah Griffin off of waivers from the Buffalo Bills on August 15th and waived him two weeks later. The 23-year old, 6’0”, 175-pound Griffin was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Bills after the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent his rookie season the Bills’ Practice Squad.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
The Giants conducted a walk-through practice on Wednesday. The following practice status is a projection:

WR Sterling Shepard (knee), WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), DL Leonard Williams (knee), OLB Jihad Ward (knee), CB Cor’Dale Flott (calf), and CB Nick McCloud (hamstring) would not have practiced on Wednesday.

CB Aaron Robinson (appendix) and CB Justin Layne (concussion) would have been limited in practice.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday afternoon (12:45-2:30PM). The coordinators and select players will also address the media.

Sep 012022
 
Blake Martinez, New York Giants (August 29, 2021)

Blake Martinez – © USA TODAY Sports

GIANTS CUT BLAKE MARTINEZ, CLAIM TYRE PHILLIPS, RE-SIGN THREE VETERANS…
The New York Giants have terminated the contract of inside linebacker Blake Martinez. The team also claimed offensive lineman Tyre Phillips off of waivers from the Baltimore Ravens. ESPN is reporting that Martinez’s release was a mutual decision by both parties.

In addition, as expected, the New York Giants re-signed three vested veterans who they cut yesterday in temporary roster-juggling moves. In order make room for the four players the team claimed off of waivers on Wednesday, the Giants had terminated the contracts of TE Tanner HudsonOG Max GarciaDL Nick Williams, and ILB Austin Calitro. Three additional roster spots became available as soon as the Giants were allowed to officially place OG Shane Lemieux, OLB Elerson Smith, and CB Rodarius Williams on short-term Injured Reserve.

Since all four players who were cut were vested veterans, they did not have to pass through waivers. Hudson, Williams, and Calitro were the players who were re-signed to the 53-man roster. Garcia was signed to the Practice Squad.

The Giants also waived TE Ricky Seals-Jones (toe) off of Injured Reserve with an injury settlement.

The Giants placed Blake Martinez on Injured Reserve in late September 2021 with a torn ACL in his left knee. He only played in three games and finished the year with 23 tackles. The Giants signed Martinez as an unrestricted free agent from the Green Bay Packers in March 2020. He had a major impact on the defense in 2020, starting all 16 games and playing in 97 percent of all defensive snaps. Martinez finished the season with a team-high 151 tackles and also accrued nine tackles for losses, three sacks, six quarterback hits, five pass defenses, one interception, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. The 6’2”, 237-pound Martinez was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Packers.

The 25-year old, 6’5”, 330-pound Phillips was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Ravens. In his first two years in the NFL, Phillips has played in 22 regular-season games with 13 starts, despite suffering an ankle injury in 2020 and a torn ACL in 2021. He has experience playing both guard spots and right tackle.

The Giants placed Seals-Jones on Injured Reserve on August 23rd with a toe injury that he suffered early in training camp. The Giants signed Seals-Jones in March 2022 as an unrestricted free agent from the Washington Commanders.

MORE PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES…
As previously reported in yesterday’s update, the Giants signed 15 players to their 16-man Practice Squad on Wednesday. On Thursday the team added six more players and released five from the Practice Squad.

Signed to Practice Squad:

  • WR Kalil Pimpleton
  • OG Max Garcia
  • OG Wyatt Davis
  • DL Henry Mondeaux
  • LB Charles Wiley
  • S Tony Jefferson

Released from Practice Squad:

  • WR Jaylon Moore
  • OT Roy Mbaeteka
  • OT Garrett McGhin
  • CB Darren Evans
  • S Nate Meadors 

Garcia was cut by the Giants from their 53-man roster yesterday.

The 23-year old, 5’9”, 172-pound Pimpleton was originally signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft. The Lions waived him on Monday. Pimpleton has experience returning punts.

The 23-year old, 6’4”, 315-pound Davis was originally selected in the 3rd round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Davis spent time on both the 53-man roster (6 games with no starts) and Practice Squad as a rookie. The Vikings waived him on Tuesday.

The 26-year old, 6’5”, 280-pound Mondeaux was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New Orleans Saints after the 2018 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Saints (2018), Kansas City Chiefs (2019), and Pittsburgh Steelers (2019-2022). The Steelers waived him on Tuesday. Mondeaux has played in 26 NFL games with two starts, accruing 21 tackles and two sacks.

The 24-year old, 6’2”, 251-pound Wiley was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft. The Ravens cut Wiley on Tuesday.

The 30-year old, 5’11”, 211-pound Jefferson was originally signed as undrafted rookie free agent by the Arizona Cardinals after the 2013 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Cardinals (2013-2016), Ravens (2017-2019, 2021-2022), and San Francisco 49ers (2021). The Ravens cut Jefferson on Tuesday. Robinson has played in 104 regular-season games with 66 starts. However, he has not started a game since 2019, when he tore his ACL mid-season. Robinson has only played in six regular-season games since 2019.

GENERAL MANAGER JOE SCHOEN AND HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Joe Schoen’s and Brian Daboll’s press conference on Thursday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee), and OLB Azeez Ojulari (calf) did not practice. RB Sandro Platzgummer also missed practice with a concussion that he suffered in the preseason finale.

TE Daniel Bellinger (concussion) participated in non-contact drills.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off from Friday through Sunday. Head Coach Brian Daboll and select players will address the media via Zoom on Monday.