Sterling Shepard – © USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK GIANTS MAKE EIGHT ROSTER MOVES…
The New York Giants have claimed the following three players off of waivers:
- WR Bailey Gaither (from the Baltimore Ravens)
- WR Jaylon Moore (from the Baltimore Ravens)
- CB Harrison Hand (from the Minnesota Vikings)
To make room for these three, the Giants terminated the contract of tight end Jordan Akins and placed wide receivers Collin Johnson (torn Achilles) and Marcus Kemp (hamstring) on Injured Reserve. Johnson tore his right Achilles’ tendon in practice today. He has been impressing in camp and was receiving snaps with the first-team offense.
The Giants also terminated the contract of wide receiver Robert Foster with an injury settlement. Foster was placed on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury last Friday.
Although not officially announced, TheAthletic is also reporting that the Giants have signed tight end Tanner Hudson, who was waived by the San Fransisco 49ers yesterday.
The 25-year old, 6’0”, 188-pound Gaither was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Green Bay Packers after the 2021 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Packers (2021), Pittsburgh Maulers (2022), and Ravens (2022). He has not played in a regular-season NFL game.
The 25-year old, 5’11’, 191-pound Moore was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Ravens after the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on Baltimore’s Practice Squad. He has not played in a regular-season NFL game.
The 23-year old, 5’11’, 197-pound Hand was originally drafted in the 5th round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Vikings. In two seasons with Minnesota, Hand played in 23 regular-season games with one start, accruing 22 tackles, three pass defenses, and one interception.
The 27-year old, 6’5”, 239-pound Hudson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons with the Buccaneers before being cut in August 2021. He was then signed by the San Francisco 49ers in September 2021 and spent most of the season on their Practice Squad. The 49ers waived him in late August 2022. Hudson has played in 22 regular-season games with one start. He has five career receptions for 67 yards.
The Giants signed Akins in April 2022 as an unrestricted free agent from the Houston Texans. The 6’4”, 243-pound Akins was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Giants claimed Johnson off of waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars in early September 2021. He ended up playing in 12 games for the Giants, with one start, and finished the season with 11 catches for 105 yards and no touchdowns. The 6’6”, 222-pound Johnson was originally drafted in the 5th-round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jaguars. As a rookie for Jacksonville, he played in 14 NFL games with no starts, catching 18 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns.
The Giants sign Kemp as an unrestricted free agent from the Kansas City Chiefs in late July 2022. The 6’4”, 210-pound Kemp was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Chiefs after the 2017 NFL Draft. Other than a brief stint with the Miami Dolphins late in 2020, Kemp was with the Chiefs from 2017 until 2021. Kemp missed the 2019 season with a torn ACL and MCL knee injury. Overall, he has played in 44 regular-season games, primarily on special teams. Kemp only four career catches for 42 yards.
The Giants signed Foster as a street free agent in March 2022 after being waived by the Dallas Cowboys. The 6’2”, 196-pound Foster was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Buffalo Bills after the 2018 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Bills (2018-2020), Green Bay Packers (2020), Washington Football Team (2020), Miami Dolphins (2021), and Cowboys (2021-2022).
AUGUST 24, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT – STERLING SHEPARD RETURNS…
LG Shane Lemieux (foot), OL Garrett McGhin (unknown), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee), LB Jihad Ward (unknown), LB Elerson Smith (ankle/foot), CB Rodarius Williams (unknown), S Dane Belton (broken left collarbone), and PK Graham Gano (concussion) did not practice.
When asked about Gano, Head Coach Brian Daboll replied, “He’s making progress. We still could (sign another kicker for this week), but if he’s ready to go toward the end of the week, we probably won’t, obviously.”
WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring?) was limited to individual drills. WR C.J. Board (ribs) also was limited.
WR Collin Johnson tore his right Achilles’ tendon in practice. His season is over. RB Matt Breida (heat?) left with trainers halfway through practice.
WR Sterling Shepard (Achilles) passed his team physical and was activated off of the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List. He practiced for the first time since suffering his injury last season. “We’ll kind of ramp him up,” said Daboll before practice. “We’ll ramp him up just like we did when the other guys come back. But he’s done a good job in his rehab, and it’ll be good to have him out there.”
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…
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 Giants will hold a joint practice with the New York Jets on Thursday from 11:30AM to 1:30PM. Head Coach Brian Daboll and select players will also address the media.
Eric Kennedy
Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.
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