A familiar staple of James Bettcher‘s recent defenses will make his Giants debut on Sunday. The team activated defensive end Josh Mauro on Saturday.
To make room on their 53-man roster, the Giants waived wide receiver Stacy Coley. Jawill Davis is expected to return kicks for the Giants, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets.
Mauro played on each of Bettcher’s three Cardinals defenses, starting 24 games during Bettcher’s stay as Arizona’s DC. Although Mauro is more of a run-stopping presence at end (two career sacks), any additional qualified personnel being available stands to help a Giants team that’s again going to be without Olivier Vernon. Afflicted with a troublesome high ankle sprain, Big Blue’s top pass rusher will miss a fifth straight game.
The NFL suspended Mauro four games for violating its policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
New York claimed Coley earlier this year after Minnesota waived the second-year wideout. He returned two kicks and two punts against the Texans in Week 3, but Davis served as the Giants’ kick-return man against the Saints.