New York Giants Reduce Roster to 80 Players

Nick Gates – © USA TODAY Sports

In order to to reduce their roster to the mandatory 80-player limit on Tuesday, the New York Giants made the following roster moves:

Linebacker Darrian Beavers (torn left ACL), tight end Andre Miller (broken forearm), and tight end Ricky Seals-Jones (toe) were placed on season-ending Injured Reserve.

Center Nick Gates (fractured lower left leg) and offensive tackle Matt Peart (ACL) were placed on the Reserve/Physically-Unable-to-Perform (PUP) List. They cannot return to the active roster until after the fourth regular-season game. Both Gates and Peart had been on the Active/PUP List since the start of training camp, along with wide receiver Sterling Shepard (Achilles). Shepard remains on the Active/PUP List and could still be on the final 53-man roster at the start of the season.

The Giants drafted Beavers in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was impressing as an all-around defender and receiving first-team snaps before he was injured.

The Giants signed Miller as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft. The Giants converted Miller from wide receiver to tight end, where he was impressing and receiving first-team snaps before he was injured.

The Giants signed Seals-Jones in March 2022 as an unrestricted free agent from the Washington Commanders. The 6’5”, 243-pound Seals-Jones was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by Arizona Cardinals after the 2017 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Cardinals (2017-2018), Cleveland Browns (2019), Kansas City Chiefs (2020), and Washington Football Team (2021). Seals-Jones has played in 54 regular-season games with 15 starts, accruing 90 catches for 1,044 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Last year for Washington, Jones started six games and caught 30 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

The Giants placed Gates on Injured Reserve in September 2021 with a serious fracture to his lower left leg that he suffered in Week 2 after being shifted to left guard. The Giants signed Gates as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. He missed all of 2018 with a foot injury that caused him to be placed on Injured Reserve before the season started. In 2019, Gates was active for all 16 games with three starts (two starts at right tackle and one start at right guard). In 2020, despite having no prior experience at playing the position, and after a rough start, Gates not only solidified the center position for the Giants but rapidly became the team’s best lineman. Gates started all 16 games at center. 

2021 was a very disappointing season for Peart. The Giants selected Peart in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Peart played in 11 games with one start at left tackle. He did play in 15 percent of all offensive snaps, receiving some quality playing time. Heading into training camp in 2021, it was anticipated that Peart would be the opening-day starter at right tackle. However, he was beat out by Nate Solder. Peart ended up playing in 15 games with five starts in 2021 (three at left tackle, two at right tackle) and was up-and-down in his play. The offensive line coach publicly questioned his toughness during the middle of the season. Peart tore the ACL in his left knee in late December, ending his season and putting into doubt his availability for the 2022 season.