Nate Ebner Visits Giants
Nate Ebner‘s return to New York could be coming soon. ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that the veteran special teams ace visited the Giants today.
This is especially notable considering Joe Judge‘s assertion throughout the offseason that the organization would re-sign Ebner once he was ready to return to the team. Initially, Ebner was away from the team as he pursued a trip to the Olympics with the USA rugby squad, but he announced that he was withdrawing from contention back in June. That seemingly opened the door for his return, but it’s been a month-plus without any developments.
Following an eight-year stint with the Patriots where he won three Super Bowl rings, Ebner joined former special teams coordinator (and current Giants head coach) Joe Judge in New York last year. The 32-year-old finished the season with eight tackles while appearing in 81-percent of his team’s special teams snaps. Earlier this offseason, Judge indicated that the Giants would bring back Ebner once he finished his stint with the US team.
Giants Move Down To 53-Man Limit
The deadline for teams to trim their rosters to the 53-man regular-season limit just passed. Here is how the Giants slashed their roster:
Released:
- OLB Ryan Anderson
- C Jonotthan Harrison
- DL Willie Henry
- LS Casey Kreiter
- OL Chad Slade
- OL Kenny Wiggins
Waived:
- OL Jackson Barton
- OL Jake Burton
- WR Matt Cole
- LB Devante Downs
- TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart
- DB Madre Harper
- TE Jake Hausmann
- OL Brett Heggie
- DB Chris Johnson
- LB Niko Lalas
- QB Brian Lewerke
- DL David Moa
- DB Jordyn Peters
- RB Sandro Platzgummer
- DL Elijah Qualls
- WR David Sills
- WR Damion Willis
Placed on reserve/PUP list:
Placed on IR:
- WR Alex Bachman
- OL Ted Larsen
- WR Austin Mack
The bevy of O-line cuts come after the Giants made two trades to bolster their front, with Wiggins, Slade and Harrison failing to dissuade the team from making those trades. New York acquired center Billy Price and guard Ben Bredeson. Wiggins is a nine-year vet who previously was a full-time starter with the Chargers and Lions. A former Colts and Jets starter, Harrison has played six seasons. He signed with the Giants in January. Veterans of all experience levels can catch on with teams’ practice squads; six players of unlimited experience are eligible per P-squad.
Larsen’s season is over, with the Giants anyway. IR-return moves only apply if a team carried a player through to its 53-man roster. While Kreiter appears on Big Blue’s cut list, the team is expected to re-sign the veteran snapper. A third-round rookie, Robinson underwent core muscle surgery recently. He is out for at least the season’s first six weeks.
Ravens To Trade OL Ben Bredeson To Giants
For the second straight day, the Giants are acquiring a former Big Ten offensive lineman from an AFC North team. Tuesday’s move: trading for Ravens second-year blocker Ben Bredeson, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Even after the Giants acquired Billy Price (Ohio State) from the Bengals, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano noted the team was searching for more help up front. Big Blue will give Bredeson a shot. The teams will swap picks in this deal, per Schefter (on Twitter). The Ravens will receive a 2022 fourth-round pick for Bredeson and will send a 2022 fifth-rounder and a 2023 seventh to the Giants, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
A Michigan product who went in the 2020 fourth round, Bredeson played in 10 games for the Ravens last season. With the Ravens signing ex-Giants guard Kevin Zeitler, their guard group is a bit deeper than it was a season ago. The Giants have struggled up front during training camp and the preseason slate, and they now have a second new interior blocker to help the cause.
Bredeson was a four-year starter at left guard for the Wolverines and should be in line to back up Will Hernandez and Shane Lemieux with the Giants. Three years remain on Bredeson’s rookie contract; Price’s deal runs through 2021.
This marks the third Ravens trade in the past five days. Evidently pleased with its depth, Baltimore sent rookie cornerback Shaun Wade to the Patriots and dealt center Greg Mancz to the Dolphins.
Giants To Cut Ifeadi Odenigbo
Despite the Giants signing Ifeadi Odenigbo early in free agency, they did not find room for the veteran pass rusher on their 53-man roster. The Giants are cutting the former Vikings starter, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets.
Odenigbo started last season with Minnesota and was effective off the bench in 2019, posting seven sacks that year. The former seventh-round pick registered 10.5 sacks over the past two seasons.
The Giants guaranteed Odenigbo $1MM, so that will go as dead money on their 2021 cap sheet. The team had dropped Odenigbo to its third-team defense, with lower-profile rushers surpassing him on the depth chart. While the Giants continue to have questions about their outside linebacker position, the ex-Viking defensive end will not be a part of Big Blue’s pass-rushing effort.
Recent second-day draft choices are in position lead the Giants’ edge corps, which has not housed a big-name presence since the Olivier Vernon trade. The Giants have former third-rounders Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximenes and second-round rookie Azeez Ojulari set to spearhead their outside linebacker group.
Giants Cut RB Corey Clement
The Giants have released running back Corey Clement, according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Clement looked strong early on in practice, but it appears that he was leapfrogged by Devontae Booker and Gary Brightwell. Booker and Brightwell now figure to serve as the top RBs behind star Saquon Barkley.
Clement is best known his Super Bowl LII touchdown and taking the Eagles’ “Philly Special” snap. He spent the last four years with the Birds, though his usage fluctuated over time. In 2019, he did not see a carry in four games. Last year, after Jordan Howard left, he still only saw 21 carries in 15 games, spending most of his time on special teams. The Giants picked him up in May but couldn’t find a place for him here in late August.
All in all, Clement has logged 655 yards and seven touchdowns off of 163 carries, plus 37 catches for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
Giants To Trade B.J. Hill To Bengals For Billy Price
We’ve got another trade to report! Not too long after the Bills dealt Darryl Johnson to the Panthers, the Giants and Bengals have pulled off an interesting swap. New York has agreed to trade defensive lineman B.J. Hill, head coach Joe Judge announced to the media on Monday.
Right after Judge said Hill would be traded, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that it was to the Bengals for offensive lineman Billy Price. The Bengals will also get a conditional seventh-round pick in the deal, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News notes in a tweet. In a follow-up tweet, Rapoport notes that Price has been a “key name” in trade talks recently, and that the Giants were searching for O-line depth.
Price wasn’t the only Bengals lineman on the block, as Albert Breer of SI.com tweets that Cincy also had discussions about guard Michael Jordan. He adds that the Jaguars joined the Giants as teams calling around about interior offensive line help this week.
A former first-rounder, Price was the 18th overall pick back in 2018. Cincinnati declined his fifth-year option this past offseason, meaning he’ll be a free agent after this season. The Ohio State product never lived up to his draft status, and could benefit from the change in scenery.
He was Cincy’s starter at center as a rookie, then moved to guard and only started eight games in 2019. This past season he was mostly a reserve, only starting one game. Hill was a third-round pick back in 2018, and also declined after his rookie year.
In his first pro season he had 5.5 sacks while starting 12 games, but over the past two years he’s had just two total sacks while being reduced to a rotational role. It makes sense for both sides, with each addressing an area of need.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/21
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to cut their rosters down to 53 players.
New York Giants
- Suspended six games (PED policy violation): OLB Ryan Anderson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: TE Marcus Baugh, RB Tony Brooks-James, CB Shakur Brown, DL T.J. Carter, WR Anthony Johnson, CB Lafayette Pitts, G Malcolm Pridgeon, WR Mathew Sexton, S Lamont Wade
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Nick Leverett, DL Ndamukong Suh, OL Earl Watford
Giants Trade K Ryan Santoso To Panthers
The Giants have agreed to trade kicker Ryan Santoso to the Panthers (Twitter links via Tom Rock of Newsday and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In return, the Giants will receive a conditional seventh-round pick — it’ll be conveyed if/when Santoso completes two games on Carolina’s roster.
Santoso was blocked by ex-Panther Graham Gano in New York. Even though he has yet to attempt a field goal or extra point in a regular season game, multiple clubs saw him as an NFL-caliber kicker. That includes the Panthers, who will put him up against Joey Slye.
Santoso signed with the Lions as a UDFA in 2018 and went on to spend time with the Titans and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. He appeared in three games for Tennessee in 2019 to serve as a kickoff specialist. He booted 17 kickoffs in that span with nine touchbacks.
Slye, who has operated as the Panthers placekicker for the last two years, missed his third kick of the preseason in last week’s loss to Baltimore. Now, the door is open for Santoso to win the job.
Giants Activate Kyle Rudolph From PUP List
Kyle Rudolph passed his physical Wednesday and will move toward a Week 1 return. The veteran tight end is now off the Giants’ active/PUP list.
The offseason acquisition spent nearly a month on the Giants’ PUP list due to the foot surgery he underwent in March. That operation briefly clouded Rudolph’s agreement to join the Giants, but the sides ended up following through with the initial deal.
It remains uncertain if Rudolph will be ready to play for his new team when its season begins Sept. 12. The 11th-year veteran, however, is not noticeably behind schedule. He said earlier this summer missing training camp was in play but has continued to keep Week 1 as the goal.
Rudolph, 31, suffered a foot injury last season — one that caused him to miss his first game action since 2014 — and Giants doctors discovered a Lisfranc issue during his physical in March. Lisfranc injuries can be difficult to shake, so it will be interesting to see if Rudolph can avoid any additional setbacks.
He committed to the Giants on a two-year, $12MM deal, joining the likes of Kenny Golladay, John Ross and first-round pick Kadarius Toney as new weapons for Daniel Jones. Rudolph will be expected to work in tandem with Evan Engram, who is going into a contract year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: CB Luq Barcoo
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Steven Sims
Carolina Panthers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Nate Hall
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Austin Calitro
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed (from Rams): TE Kyle Markway
- Waived: DE Romeo McKnight
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: RB Rico Dowdle
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Damontae Kazee, G Connor Williams
Houston Texans
- Waived: WR Taywan Taylor
Indianapolis Colts
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DE Damontre Moore
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed (from Bears): OL Badara Traore
- Waived: OL Garrett McGhin
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Nate Evans
- Waived: DL Frederick Smith Jr.
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: LS Steven Wirtel
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: OT Evin Ksiezarczyk
- Released from IR via injury settlement: K Riley Patterson
New England Patriots
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Marvin Hall
New York Giants
- Released from IR via injury settlement: QB Clayton Thorson
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from active/PUP list: S Jaquiski Tartt
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed (from Jaguars): OL Derwin Gray
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OLB Harold Landry