HEADLINES

Justin Anderson (LB)

Giants Waive Charles Brown

November 22nd, 2014 at 12:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Offensive lineman Charles Brown didn’t even last one season in New York, as ESPN’s Adam Caplan tweets that the Giants have waived the 27-year-old. ESPN’s Josina Anderson adds (via Twitter) that the team has promoted linebacker Justin Anderson to take Brown’s place on the roster.

The former second-round pick signed a one-year deal with the Giants in April after having spent the first four years of his career with the Saints. The tackle wasn’t necessarily productive with New Orleans in 2013, but ProFootballFocus.com (subscription required) ranked him as an above-average run blocker.

Brown compiled nearly 1,000 snaps with New Orleans last season, but he’s barely seen the field in 2014. The lineman’s only seen 62 snaps on offense, and PFF’s advanced metrics ranked him among the least-productive players on the Giants.

Anderson, an undrafted rookie out of Louisiana-Lafayette, was cut by New York last week. He quickly rejoined the team’s practice squad only a couple of days later.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

November 19th, 2014 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up today’s practice squad signings and cuts in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day….

  • The Packers have filled the lone opening on their practice squad by signing guard Rishaw Johnson, the team announced today. Johnson previously spent time this season on the Buccaneers’ active roster and the Cowboys’ practice squad.

Earlier updates:

  • The Steelers, who cut LeGarrette Blount and promoted running back Josh Harris to their roster yesterday, have added another back to the practice squad to replace Harris. LaDarius Perkins, an undrafted rookie out of Mississippi State who spent the summer with the Packers, is the newest member of the taxi squad, per Burt Lauten (via Twitter).
  • Defensive end George Uko, who spent three weeks on the Buccaneers‘ practice squad earlier this year, has been re-signed to the unit, the team announced today in a press release. Tampa Bay cut punter Jacob Schum to make room for Uko.
  • After cutting him earlier this week to accommodate the activation of guard Geoff Schwartz, the Giants have re-signed linebacker Justin Anderson to their practice squad, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.

Giants Activate Geoff Schwartz, Cut Anderson

November 17th, 2014 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Giants have officially activated guard Geoff Schwartz from their injured reserve list, cutting linebacker Justin Anderson to make room on the 53-man roster, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun first reported earlier today that Schwartz would be added to New York’s active roster.

Schwartz, 28, signed a four-year deal with the Giants when he hit free agency in March, but has yet to make his regular-season debut for the club. Sidelined with a toe injury, Schwartz was placed on injured reserve with the designation to return prior to Week 1. The team had until today at 4:00pm eastern time to decide whether to place Schwartz on the 53-man roster or move him to long-term injured reserve, ending his season.

As for Anderson, he had been promoted from the Giants’ practice squad to the 53-man roster in advance of the team’s game against the 49ers. Assuming he clears waivers, Anderson appears to be a candidate to rejoin the taxi squad later this week.

Giants Place Peyton Hillis On IR

November 15th, 2014 at 11:16am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Giants will receive an offensive boost on Sunday when running back Rashad Jennings returns from an knee injury that forced him to miss four games. However, they’ll be without another veteran ball-carrier, as the club has placed Peyton Hillis on injured reserve (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports). Hillis suffered a concussion during last Sunday’s game against the Seahawks and hasn’t practiced since, and New York evidently felt his symptoms were severe enough to end his season. To replace Hillis on the 53-man roster, the Giants have promoted linebacker Justin Anderson from the practice squad, according to Jordan Raanan of the NJ.com (via Twitter).

Hillis, 29 in January, signed with the Giants in October 2013. Prior to his arrival in New York, the 2008 seventh-round pick had spent time with the Broncos, Browns, Chiefs, and Buccaneers. His most notable season was 2010, when he rushed for more than 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns, adding 61 receptions for another 477 yards. This season, Hillis had seen 115 offensive snaps as he teamed with Andre Williams to fill in for Jennings. He’s due $870K in base salary in 2015, and with bonuses pushing his cap figure to $945K, it’s no guarantee he’ll return to the Giants next season.

Meanwhile, Anderson will add depth to a linebacking unit that will be without injured weak-side starter Jacquian Williams on Sunday. Even after adding Anderson, the Giants will field only five healthy LBs for tomorrow’s game, so presuming he’s active, there’s a chance Anderson sees a handful of snaps, at least on special teams. The rookie out of Louisiana-Lafayette has been on New York’s practice squad since late October.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

October 29th, 2014 at 6:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

  • One cornerback has replaced another on the Chargers‘ practice squad, as the team announced today that it has signed Kendall James and parted ways with Aaron Hester.
  • Offensive lineman Chris Barker, who was cut when the Patriots acquired Jonathan Casillas, has cleared waivers and will rejoin the club’s practice squad, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. The Pats will have to make a corresponding move to make room for Barker.
  • One last update from Charean Williams (Twitter link) on Jeff Baca: the Cowboys have indeed signed the offensive lineman to their practice squad, releasing guard Rishaw Johnson to do so.

Earlier updates:

  • After being cut by the Rams to accommodate the addition of safety Mark Barron, quarterback Case Keenum has cleared waivers and re-signed with the team’s practice squad, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Linebacker Justin Anderson is signing with the Giants‘ practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The team had been carrying just nine players on its squad, so no corresponding move was necessary to clear room for Anderson, who spent time with the Giants during the preseason.
  • The Seahawks appear to have filled one of their practice squad openings by adding offensive lineman Keavon Milton, says Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter).
  • Charean Williams had issued an addendum to her earlier report, tweeting that apparently Baca hasn’t signed with the Cowboys after all. Instead, the team has replaced Davis with another linebacker, Will Smith.
  • The Cowboys have signed offensive lineman Jeff Baca to the taxi squad, replacing linebacker Troy Davis, according to Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
  • Quarterback Mike Kafka has been signed to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Kafka, 27, was released by the Bucs on Monday. He did not take a snap with the Bucs during his short stint on the active roster and his only NFL experience came in 2011 with the Eagles where he appeared in four games.

AFC Notes: Sparano, Patriots, Hoyer, Browns

October 13th, 2014 at 4:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers sees big things ahead for Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr, writes Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. “He played really well,” Rivers said. “He was efficient, making some checks, handling things at the line. He showed great poise. I don’t know him at all. He’s got a heck of a career if he keeps this up.” Even though Oakland came up short in their upset bid over San Diego, Raiders fans have to be happy with what they saw out of Carr yesterday. More from the AFC..

  • Raiders players have responded well to interim head coach Tony Sparano, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Despite Sunday’s final result, Sparano is clearly getting better play out of his team than predecessor Dennis Allen was.
  • Even with serious injuries to linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) doesn’t expect the Patriots to make any roster moves today, even on a short week.
  • With that said, the Patriots auditioned five linebackers today, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter): Justin Anderson, Kaelin Burnett, Tim Dobbins, Mario Harvey, and Paul Hazel.
  • Pending free agent Brian Hoyer would like to stay with the Browns but he’s also being realistic as he looks ahead. “I’m from Cleveland and I want to be here…but [I’m] also a competitor. I want to be somewhere where I’m playing,” the quarterback said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
  • Browns head coach Mike Pettine is hopeful that center Alex Mack can return to the field in 2014 after undergoing surgery on his broken fibula, writes Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. If Mack has only a broken leg, it’ll be an 8-10 week absence. If it’s anything more, he’d be done for the year.
  • More bad news for the Browns. In addition to possibly losing Mack for the season, they learned that they’ll also be without defensive end Armonty Bryant, who has a torn ACL, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Bryant also has a partial MCL tear and will undergo surgery soon. Pettine told reporters today, including Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald (on Twitter), that a replacement for Bryant may be necessary. That’s not the case at center, however, where he feels he has in-house options to step in.

Giants Waive 13 Players, Place Two On IR

August 26th, 2014 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

10:49am: Graziano provides the last four Giants moves, reporting in a pair of tweets that the team has also cut safety C.J. Barnett and defensive tackle Everett Dawkins, as well as placing wideout Marcus Harris and safety Cooper Taylor on season-ending injured reserve.

10:27am: Vacchiano adds two more names to the list of Giants’ cuts (via Twitter): Travis Harvey (WR) and John Sullen (G). The team still has to part ways with four more players by this afternoon.

9:26am: In addition to McManus and James, the Giants have cut the following players, according to reports from Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News and Conor Orr of the Star-Ledger:

  • Spencer Adkins, LB
  • Justin Anderson, LB (waived-injured)
  • Jerome Cunningham, TE
  • Emmanuel Dieke, DE
  • Xavier Grimble, TE (waived-injured)
  • Kyle Sebetic, S
  • Ross Weaver, CB

The seven additional cuts bring the Giants’ roster count down to 81.

8:34am: The Giants’ first wave of roster cuts is underway, and one of the team’s first moves will settle the kicking battle in New York. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Giants have informed Brandon McManus that Josh Brown will be the club’s kicker, with McManus being cut. Additionally, defensive back Charles James will be waived, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). James announced that move himself this morning, via Instagram.

McManus, 23, may have lost the Giants’ kicking competition to the veteran Brown, but he has a big leg, having reportedly made a 75-yard field goal in training camp, as well as frequently putting kickoffs 10 yards out of the end zone, writes Bill Pennington of the New York Times. He’ll have to make it through waivers to become a free agent, so we’ll keep an eye out this week on whether another team decides to put in a claim for him.

As for James, he spent last season with the Giants and only saw two total defensive snaps, but was a frequent contributor on special teams — he recorded six overall tackles in kick and punt coverage. Graziano tweets that New York would have liked to delay its decision on James, but recent injuries on the offensive line have forced the team to change its plans.

The Giants have yet to announce these transactions, but figure to make them official later today when they finalize the rest of their cuts. The team will have to part ways with 13 more players by this afternoon’s roster cutdown deadline.

Giants Sign 10 UDFAs, Cut Five Players

May 15th, 2014 at 4:26pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 4:26pm: USC tight end Xavier Grimble has also joined the Giants’ rookie free agent class, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

TUESDAY, 1:54pm: The Giants have cut defensive back Chaz Powell and announced another four UDFA additions, according to a team release. Here are the newest Giants’ signings:

  • Charles Barnett, S, Ohio State
  • Emmanuel Dieke, DE, Georgia Tech ($7.5K bonus and $7.5K in other guarantees, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Dan Fox, LB, Notre Dame
  • Jordan Stanton, DE, James Madison

MONDAY, 4:47pm: The Giants have announced a series of roster moves, including a first step toward paring down the excess of quarterbacks on the depth chart. According to a press release, the team has released QB Rusty Smith and waived linebacker Allen Bradford, cornerback Junior Mertile and punter Jordan Gay. New York also signed five undrafted free agents.

Smith, a former Titan, inked a deal with the Giants last month shortly after the team added Josh Freeman to the roster to complement Eli Manning, Ryan Nassib, and Curtis Painter. He’ll immediately become an unrestricted free agent, while the other players will have to pass through waivers.

Here are the Giants’ five UDFA signings:

  • Justin Anderson, LB, Louisiana-Lafayette
  • Thomas Gordon, S, Michigan
  • Eathyn Manumaleuna, DT BYU
  • Kelcy Quarles, DT, South Carolina
  • Kerry Wynn, DE, Richmond