Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/17
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Vinston Painter
- Waived: LS Justin Drescher, WR Carlton Agudosi
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Matt LaCosse (from Giants’ practice squad)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted from practice squad: S Leon McQuay
- Placed on injured reserve: S Steven Terrell on IR
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Hunter Sharp (from Broncos’ practice squad)
- Placed on injured reserve: WR Darius Powe
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on injured reserve: RB Andre Williams
Giants Release DT Khyri Thornton
The Giants released third-year defensive tackle Khyri Thornton, the team reported on Tuesday (Twitter link). 
Thornton was signed by New York on Nov. 29 after being released from the Lions but did not appear in a game with the team. The third-round selection in 2015 missed the first six games of the season while serving a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He made four tackles with Detroit before being released.
A solid run stopper at Southern Mississippi, Thornton has yet to translate that to production in the NFL. He failed to see the field for the Giants, who own one of the league’s worst rush defenses.
Davis Webb Was "Ben McAdoo's Guy"
- Rookie quarterback Davis Webb‘s status with the Giants is now uncertain following the firing of general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo, especially given that Webb was considered “McAdoo’s guy,” tweets Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. McAdoo reportedly “pushed for [Webb] in every round” of the 2017 draft, and New York ultimately selected Webb in the third round. The Giants turned to veteran backup Geno Smith in Week 13, but will apparently start Eli Manning for the remainder of the season, leaving open the question of whether Webb is in the club’s long-term plans.
Eli Manning Will Remain Starter Going Forward
- The Giants intend to start Eli Manning not just this week, but going forward as well, per Rapoport (video link). The team’s prior plan to get rookie Davis Webb an extended look is on hold indefinitely, though New York still wants to give him a shot a some point. We also learned earlier today that Dave Gettleman has emerged as the frontrunner for the team’s GM job.
Dave Gettleman Is Giants’ Top Choice For GM
We have heard over the past several days that former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman is emerging as a frontrunner for the Giants’ newly-available GM job, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that Gettleman is currently the team’s first choice to permanently replace longtime decision-maker Jerry Reese. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports hears the same thing, and he says it would be an upset if someone other than Gettleman got the job.
As Rapoport observes, Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch almost always hire individuals with ties to the organization, and Gettleman served as the Pro Personnel Director and the Senior Pro Personnel Analyst with Big Blue before he was hired by Carolina in 2013.
Gettleman was able to get the Panthers out of salary-cap hell and lead the team to the playoffs in each of his first three years in Carolina, including an appearance in Super Bowl 50. Carolina finished 6-10 last season but is back in the playoff hunt in 2017 with a roster largely constructed by Gettleman, which is why his ouster in July was so jarring and why it is no surprise to see him back in the GM conversation so quickly. Rapoport notes that Gettleman has stayed in touch with friend and confidant Ernie Accorsi, who is serving as the Giants’ consultant for their search.
New York, though, does plan to give interim GM Kevin Abrams a legitimate chance to win the job. Rapoport and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com report that the Giants also planned to interview former Chiefs GM John Dorsey before the Browns swooped in and hired him (which is perhaps why Cleveland acted as swiftly as it did).
The Giants want to hire a GM before hiring a head coach. If the team hires Gettleman, current Panthers DC Steve Wilks will get serious consideration for New York’s head coaching job, although the desirability of that position will draw a host of top-tier candidates.
Justin Pugh Could Be IR-Bound
- The Cowboys will be without Orlando Scandrick, David Irving and Justin Durant against the Giants on Sunday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Scandrick suffered two transverse process fractures, while Durant and Irving remain in concussion protocol. The 6-6 Cowboys are clinging to contention and will need to complete a sweep of their NFC East rival to stay in the race.
- Justin Pugh will be unavailable for the Giants. The upper-echelon blocker now faces the prospect of heading into free agency on a low note. Pugh’s back injury could force him to IR, Tom Rock of Newsday notes. Pugh said he wants to return this season but is also cognizant of his status. “I don’t want to,” he said of the prospect of being shut down for the season. “(But) I don’t want to make (the injury) even worse. It’s not at a point now where I have to get surgery or anything like that, and I don’t want it to get to that point.” Both Pugh and Weston Richburg, who is on IR, will see their contracts expire at season’s end. Pugh’s played in eight games this season.
Nick Caserio “Willing To Listen” To Offers
Patriots vice president of player personnel Nick Caserio is “willing to listen” to offers that would make him a general manager with another club, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com.
Caserio, who has spent the entirety of his 17-year NFL career with the Patriots, would particularly be interested in the Giants’ general manager position, per Breer. New York, of course, is the only club currently without a permanent GM after firing Jerry Reese on Monday. The Browns, notably, went roughly 11 hours without a general manager on Thursday, as they parted ways with Sashi Brown and hired ex-Chiefs GM John Dorsey on the same day.
Caserio has been linked to other vacancies in the past: he interviewed for the Dolphins general manager job in 2014 but declined an offer, and also declined an interview with the 49ers earlier this year. San Francisco was interested in hiring both Caserio and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in a package deal, but both ultimately stayed put in New England.
While Caserio doesn’t have final say on the Patriots’ roster (head coach Bill Belichick calls the shots in New England), he has contributed in variety of roles during his time with the club. The 41-year-old Caserio has not only worked as a scout and a personnel executive, but spent the 2007 campaign as the Patriots’ wide receivers coach. His current contract is believed to tie him to New England through 2020, but he’d be allowed to take another position if it offered him full roster control.
Potential GM Candidates For Giants
- Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com spoke with people around the league to size up some potential candidates for the Giants‘ GM vacancy. The names he’s hearing include Eliot Wolf (Packers), Nick Caserio (Patriots), Scott Pioli (Falcons), Trent Kirchner (Seahawks), Dave Gettleman (ex-Panthers GM), Louis Riddick (currently with ESPN), and internal candidates Kevin Abrams and Marc Ross.
Former Giants RB Rashad Jennings Retires
Rashad Jennings is calling it a career. The running back took to Twitter on Friday morning to announce his retirement. 
“If good things don’t come to an end, then how can better things begin? I’m truly humbled. I’m truly excited.. More to come on this. But for now, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone!,” Jennings wrote.
That next step could be a move to broadcasting. Earlier this year, Jennings participated in “Dancing With The Stars” and wound up winning the competition. Now that he has tons of TV experience and is known to an audience outside of football, he could have some big paychecks ahead of him that don’t require getting tackled.
Jennings, 32, didn’t draw a lot of NFL interest this offseason and that could be because of his moonlighting as a network TV ballroom dancer. His age and injury history didn’t help much either. In 2016, he played through several nagging injuries and averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. However, he was healthy in 2015 and it showed – he averaged 4.4 yards per carry and started in all 16 regular season games.
Jennings first entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Jaguars. After spending the first three years of his career with Jacksonville, he joined up with the Raiders in 2013. In Oakland, Jennings showed that he could produce with a big workload as he ran for 733 yards off of 163 carries (4.5 yards per attempt). He used that season as a platform for free agency, where he landed a four-year deal with the Giants.
Whether it’s broadcasting or ballet, we here at Pro Football Rumors wish Jennings the best in his future endeavors.
Giants Notes: Spags, Merritt
- Interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo will remain “heavily involved” in the Giants‘ defensive scheme, but secondary coach David Merrit will also see an increased workload, Spagnuolo told reporters, including James Kratch of NJ.com (Twitter link). Spagnuolo, of course, is still New York’s defensive coordinator in addition to interim head coach following the firing of Ben McAdoo, but with gameday responsibilities now on the table, Spagnuolo will almost certainly require assistance. Merritt, for his part, is the Giants’ longest-tenured assistant, as he’s been with the club for 14 years.