Aldrick Rosas – © USA TODAY Sports
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NEW YORK GIANTS MAKE NINE ROSTER MOVES…
The New York Giants have officially waived eight players and placed another on Injured Reserve:
- WR C.J. Germany (Waived)
- OL Richard Levy (Waived)
- LB Steven Daniels (Waived)
- LB Chris Casher (Waived)
- CB Tim Scott (Waived)
- CB Tay Glover-Wright (Waived)
- CB Daniel Gray (Waived)
- S Duke Ihenacho (Injured Reserve)
- S Eric Pinkins (Waived)
Aside from Pinkins and Ihenacho, the other seven players were added to the roster last month when injuries affected those respective positions. Ihenacho injured his knee in the third preseason game against the New York Jets.
Pinkins was signed to the Practice Squad in October 2016 and the 53-man roster in November. He ended up playing in five games for the Giants, mostly on special teams. Pinkins was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
The Giants signed Ihenacho as an unrestricted free agent in May 2017. Ihenacho was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Denver Broncos after the 2012 NFL Draft. The Redskins claimed him off of waivers from the Broncos in August 2014. Ihenacho spent most of 2014 (broken foot) and 2015 (dislocated/fractured wrist) on Injured Reserve. Ihenacho started 10 of 15 regular-season games in 2016, being credited with 66 tackles and two pass defenses.
The Giants roster now stands at 80 players. Teams must officially reduce their active rosters to 53 players by 4:00PM ET on Saturday.
FRIDAY BEN MCADOO CONFERENCE CALL…
New York Giants Head Coach Ben McAdoo addressed the media by conference call on Friday to discuss the team’s 40-38 win over the New England Patriots:
Q: What did you think of QB Geno Smith and QB Josh Johnson when you watched last night’s film?
A: They both graded out high. They played well. Again, it’s going to be a tough decision.
Q: How far along were you in the decision-making process with quarterbacks Geno Smith and Josh Johnson leading into last night’s game?
A: We were going to let it play out. We weren’t going to rush to any decisions. We’re continuing the evaluation process today and we’ll make a decision tomorrow.
Q: Will you keep one of the backup quarterbacks on the roster as of now?
A: Can I say if we’re going to keep one of them? I will say nothing about who we’re going to keep.
Q: Can you talk about the kicking competition and if K Aldrick Rosas won a spot on the roster last night?
A: Well, I think Mike (Nugent) and Aldrick, they both competed at a high level. Mike had a tremendous game last week versus the Jets and we wanted to see how Aldrick responded and he responded very well last night. We’re taking a look at it right now.
Q: How much do you factor in the ages of kickers Aldrick Rosas and Mike Nugent when it comes to earning a roster spot?
A: I think experience is a big factor, whether you look at lack of experience or an experienced player. I don’t know that age really matters all that much. I think experience does, especially at that position. But both men have done exactly what we’ve asked them to do and performed and played at a high level.
Q: Now that you’ve had a full preseason with a fullback, how much of an impact has that made on the offense and the run game in particular?
A: I mean, just like every year since I’ve been here, we had a preseason with a fullback. We had a couple guys who played at a high level. Shane Smith did a nice job in there for us yesterday. He is a guy who’s continuing to learn the position. He’s new to the position and developing as a special-teamer. Those guys have done a nice job for us. Again, we have some tough decisions to make at that fullback spot and tight end spot.
Q: How do you think the tight end competition went last night?
A: It was good to see (Matt) LaCosse produce. We’ve been seeing that in the OTA’s and in training camp – him producing, making plays and having a chance to score a couple times, as well as contributing in the two-minute drive, was good to see. We’ve been seeing that all along in practice. It’s nice for it to show up on game day. Jerell (Adams) blocked very physical. He was a physical player. Didn’t get many opportunities in the pass game, but came on as a blocker yesterday in the ball game. Will Tye. You take the second play of the game out of the mix – he had a nice night.
Q: How do feel that T Chad Wheeler developed over the summer?
A: I think he’s coming along. I think his best days are ahead of him as a player. I think he has some versatility for us. It’s encouraging.
Q: Where else do you think T Chad Wheeler can be used since you mentioned the word ‘versatility?’
A: I think he has some flexibility to play both sides and possibly inside.
Q: How much work have you done on the Cowboys over these last couple of months?
A: I focus one week at a time and we’ll be ready for Dallas when it gets here.
Q: Is it fair to say that you’ve at least looked at Dallas in the offseason?
A: We brush up on division opponents in the offseason, that’s fair to say.
Q: How much are you paying attention to Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott’s legal proceedings?
A: We’re focused on our own team right now. Whoever rolls out there for Dallas, whoever they put on the field, we’ll be prepared for, we’ll have a plan for and we’ll be ready to go.
Q: Did you have any injuries in last night’s game?
A: We had a couple guys nicked, but nothing of note.
Q: Has there been any progress for linebacker Mark Herzlich injury-wise?
A: Herzlich, he’s making progress. He’s down there getting treatment right now, we’ll see how he responds.
Q: How much tougher has it been to have the roster cut down to 53 players in one swoop, as opposed to doing it gradually, like it was in the past?
A: Well, I think it’s challenging because we feel that we have more than 53 who can play. That’s what’s going to make it challenging for us. We like where we’re at from a roster standpoint. We feel we have some depth, we had some good competition and at the positions we needed to see a lot out of last night, they stood up and they played and they competed. It was exciting to watch and it made our job even harder, but that’s good. That’s a great problem to have.
Q: How tough of a decision is it on Herzlich, not knowing when he will be healthy enough to play?
A: That’s part of it. Obviously, you weigh that in, but that’s more of a medical decision. That’s something that you have to factor in when you get to the 53.
Q: Are players off Saturday and Sunday of this weekend?
A: They’ll have a little time away from the building, unless they need to receive medical treatment, yes.
Q: What does it say about your program that you haven’t been hit with any long-term injuries like we see around the league during preseason?
A: Right now, we’re worried about picking the best 53 guys that we have. We appreciate the effort and everything that everyone on the 90[-man] roster has put into this team. We wouldn’t be where we are without a lot of the guys that we’re getting ready to cut. It’s going to be a tough couple of days. Injuries are a part of the game, they happen, you can’t control them all. But we feel with the 90 that we had, that we built up a pretty physical, heavy-handed, conditioned team and it’s a challenge doing it when you have three games in 11 days, but the players responded. And I think they did a nice job last night fighting through some things and playing for each other.
Q: Do you meet with every player that you cut?
A: Yes.
THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts of the media conference calls with the following players on Friday are available in The Corner Forum:
