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Giants Activate TE Darren Waller From IR

December 16th, 2023 at 5:24pm CST by Adam La Rose

DECEMBER 16: It didn’t take much practice for the Giants to deem Waller ready to return. Two days after opening his 21-day practice window, New York has announced Waller’s activation off of IR. The 31-year-old tight end is still listed as questionable heading into Sunday’s trip to New Orleans, but if he’s available to play, it’s an immediate upgrade to the Giants’ offense. Despite having not played since October, Waller is still second on the team in both receptions and receiving yards. If healthy, Waller will take most of the offensive snaps with Daniel Bellinger, pushing converted wide receiver Lawrence Cager back to a reserve role.

DECEMBER 14, 11:02am: In a move which comes as little surprise given Waller’s comments, the Giants have indeed designated him for return. He now has 21 days to be activated, and he could be brought back onto the active roster in time for Week 15. New York has five IR activations remaining.

DECEMBER 14, 8:58am: The Giants’ offense could be close to getting a notable boost. Tight end Darren Waller remains on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury, but he feels confident he will be able to play in the near future.

Waller has not played since Week 8 after he encountered his most recent hamstring issue. The team’s decision to place him on IR guaranteed a four-week absence, but the Giants can now bring him back at any time. Doing so would require designating him for return, which would open his 21-day practice window. That has still not happened, but Waller’s remarks indicate he is ready to return to action.

“Just a matter of them opening up the window and I’ll be at practice,” the Pro Bowler said, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “Whenever that is, I’ll be out there. I’m just waiting [for] the word.”

Despite missing signficant time, Waller ranks second on the Giants in both receptions (26) and yards (384). Being able to return to the field would thus give the team another option in the passing game, something which would be a welcomed addition. New York ranks last in the league with an average of 180 passing yards per game, though the offense has received a spark in recent weeks with undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito under center.

While Waller could help the Giants continue their winning streak if he were to be activated in time for Week 15, a return to the field at any point could help him reclaim some value from an otherwise disappointing debut season with the team. The 31-year-old arrived with signficant expectations after being traded by the Raiders this offseason, given his own track record and the Giants’ lack of proven pass-catching options. Waller has scored just one touchdown in 2023, eclipsing 76 yards in a game twice to date.

The former sixth-rounder is under contract through 2026, and he is due eight-figure compensation each year beginning in 2024. Roughly $2.5MM is guaranteed each season, however, so the Giants would be able to move on from him with relative ease if they elected to do so. Waller could play his way into New York’s long-term plans with a return to the field and strong play, though, something which could be around the corner.

Giants WR Parris Campbell Addresses Week 14 Benching

December 15th, 2023 at 1:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Giants extended their winning streak to three games on Monday, but their offense was shorthanded in the pass-catching department. Wideout Parris Campbell was a healthy scratch, a decision which he recently spoke about.

Campbell joined the Giants this offseason by signing a one-year deal with a base value of $4.7MM. Incentives added to his maximum earning potential for the season, one in which expectations were relatively high. The former Colt had managed to put together a healthy campaign in 2022, and New York did not boast a group of highly experienced and productive playmakers at the WR spot.

Things have not gone according to plan for Campbell this season, however. The former second-rounder has seen his playing time drop considerably since Wan’Dale Robinson returned to the lineup in Week 3. Campbell received 16 targets across the first three weeks of the season, but only 11 since then. Despite taking on kick return duties, the Ohio State alum found himself on the wrong side of a numbers game for the Giants’ win on Monday.

“Yeah, I definitely was shocked,” Campbell said of the decision to deactivate him, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “Shoot, I was more so just hurt, more than anything… hurt that I know what I put into it each and every week. And to be inactive for the first time in my career was definitely hurtful, was definitely shocking.”

Campbell battled injuries during his Indianapolis tenure, but his 63-623-3 statline last season offered a glimpse of what he is capable of producing when healthy. In his debut campaign with the Giants – who rank last in the NFL with an average of 180 passing yards per game – the 26-year-old has totaled just 104 scoreless yards on 20 receptions. Especially if tight end Darren Waller is able to return to the lineup this week, Campbell could see his 27% offensive snap share continue to fall and his role in the passing game dwindle even further.

The kick return role could await him when he is back in the lineup, however. Campbell has averaged 23.9 yards on eight runbacks this season, and special teams could be his easiest path to playing time for the rest of the season. Any production through the closing weeks of the campaign would also help rebuild some of his free agent value in advance of a likely departure this spring.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 13th, 2023 at 2:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two different teams have held the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years since 2017. Amid a radical rebuild effort, the Browns carried the top pick into the 2017 and ’18 drafts. The Jaguars did the same in 2021 and ’22. It is possible the Bears will follow that up in back-to-back years. The big difference here would be the Bears traded the 2023 top choice and may unload the 2024 top pick for another windfall, depending on their evaluation of Justin Fields.

The Bears and Panthers’ March trade, giving Carolina access to Bryce Young, has become a seminal moment for both teams. As it stands now, Chicago holds two top-five picks. The Panthers are 1-12, giving the Bears a two-game lead on the Patriots and Cardinals for the top slot with four games left. Chicago finishing with the first overall selection, providing access to the quarterback of its choice, would create a big-picture decision for a Bears team that already passed on the 2023 quarterback class to stick with Fields — a QB the Ryan Poles regime did not draft. North Carolina’s Drake Maye has declared for the draft, while USC’s Caleb Williams is widely expected to follow suit.

A new Cardinals regime is also evaluating its QB, though Kyler Murray‘s $46.1MM-per-year contract (which runs through 2028) will be much harder to escape compared to Fields’. This creates an interesting scenario that will have teams who do not land two-two draft slots monitoring how Chicago and Arizona proceed. The Patriots are widely expected to pursue a quarterback in the draft, and they are likely to do so without Bill Belichick.

With gridlock forming in the AFC and NFC wild-card races, considerable movement will take place over the next month. The winner of the NFC South will likely lose several spots in the ’24 draft, as the Buccaneers did this year by winning the ’22 division title at 8-9. Here is how the draft order looks going into Week 15:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. New England Patriots: 3-10
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 3-10
  4. Washington Commanders: 4-9
  5. Chicago Bears: 5-8
  6. Las Vegas Raiders: 5-8
  7. New York Jets: 5-8
  8. New York Giants: 5-8
  9. Tennessee Titans: 5-8
  10. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-8
  11. Atlanta Falcons: 6-7
  12. New Orleans Saints: 6-7
  13. Seattle Seahawks: 6-7
  14. Los Angeles Rams: 6-7
  15. Denver Broncos: 7-6
  16. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  17. Buffalo Bills: 7-6
  18. Cincinnati Bengals: 7-6
  19. Green Bay Packers: 6-7
  20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-7
  21. Indianapolis Colts: 7-6
  22. Minnesota Vikings: 7-6
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-6
  24. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-5
  26. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-5
  27. Detroit Lions: 9-4
  28. Philadelphia Eagles: 10-3
  29. Miami Dolphins: 9-4
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 10-3
  31. San Francisco 49ers: 10-3
  32. Baltimore Ravens: 10-3

Giants Activate Tyrod Taylor; Tommy DeVito To Start In Week 14

December 11th, 2023 at 3:21pm CST by Adam La Rose

DECEMBER 11: Taylor will be in uniform Monday night. The Giants used one of their remaining injury activations to bring Taylor back onto the 53-man roster. Despite DeVito looking overmatched early in his starter run, the Giants have stuck with the rookie UDFA, who has shown some improvement. Taylor expressed disappointment about not returning to a starting role, but he will back up DeVito tonight against the Packers. The 34-year-old QB suffered four broken ribs earlier this season.

DECEMBER 5: While Taylor will likely be activated in time for the Giants’ upcoming Monday night game, head coach Brian Daboll said (via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News) it will be DeVito starting for the fifth straight contest. The latter will receive at least one more look as a No. 1 to close out the season.

DECEMBER 4: The Giants will soon have a quarterback decision to make. Tyrod Taylor will be designated for return from injured reserve this week, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The move has indeed taken place today, per a team announcement.

The move will allow Taylor to return to the practice field as the Giants return from their bye week. The 34-year-old will have 21 days to be activated or revert to season-ending IR. With Daniel Jones out for the season, the Giants have been forced to rely on undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito over the past four games in the wake of Taylor’s rib injury. The latter is now set to return to the lineup in the near future, though.

It came out last month that Taylor expected to return to action after New York’s bye week, so today’s update comes as little surprise. The journeyman has made three starts in 2023, his second season with the Giants. Taylor – like each of the team’s other quarterbacks – was unable to guide New York to significant offensive production during his time at the helm, but he will provide experience and consistency in contrast to DeVito, who has gone 2-2 as a starter.

On the other hand, the latter could be deemed to have more upside than Taylor, a factor which could weigh into the Giants’ decision on their pecking order at the QB spot. The final weeks of a lost campaign could be used to evaluate DeVito, whose play over the past two weeks has been much better than his initial NFL action. The 25-year-old drew interest from at least two other teams after the draft, but his decision to sign with the Giants has proven to be a shrewd one so far.

Taylor is a pending free agent, so the final weeks of the season would give him an opportunity to boost his market on a new Giants pact or one which would send him elsewhere. DeVito could likewise play his way into the QB2 role for 2024 by continuing to show promise if he gets the nod to finish the campaign. New York has the ability to move on from Jones’ $160MM extension signed in March at the end of next year, so plenty of pressure will be on him to show improvement once he returns to action. How the team handles the backup spot will be a storyline to watch as well, though, with the upcoming Taylor-DeVito decision representing an important choice for the team in the immediate future.

Daniel Jones Targeting Training Camp Return

December 7th, 2023 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Daniel Jones provided an encouraging update on his knee injury. The Giants quarterback told reporters that he suffered only an ACL injury and didn’t have any other structural damage, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.

[RELATED: Giants Expect Daniel Jones To Start In 2024]

Two weeks removed from his knee surgery, Jones now has a clearer outlook on his rehab. The quarterback told reporters that he intends to “check all the boxes” along the way but is targeting training camp as his return date.

“I mean, it’s a long road. I think it depends, kind of how I do with each stage of it and, and how it progresses,” Jones said (h/t Yahoo’s Ben Krimmel). “I’m going to try to focus on what’s right in front of me during each stage and do as well as I can with each of those. It’s a long road ahead.”

Jones suffered the torn ACL in early November, meaning there would be around 10 months between his injury and the start of next season. There was hope that the quarterback would be on the field for the 2024 season opener, but it was uncertain how many reps he’d be able to get during training camp and the preseason. Jones’ ambitious target means he’d be able to get a full preseason with his squad.

Considering the player’s injury, uneven play, and hefty $40MM price tag, it was uncertain if the former sixth-overall pick would stick around New York. GM Joe Schoen acknowledged that the player’s uncertain status for the start of next season could require the front office to make a move at the position, but he also noted that Jones is expected to be the QB1 when he’s healthy enough to play.

K Robbie Gould Announces Retirement

December 7th, 2023 at 9:00am CST by Sam Robinson

Robbie Gould expressed interest in playing a 19th NFL season, and he auditioned for the Giants last month. The longtime Bears and 49ers kicker will instead opt to leave the game behind.

A day after his 41st birthday, Gould wrote in a Players’ Tribune post he intends to retire. Gould, who sandwiched a lone Giants season between lengthy runs in Chicago and San Francisco, will finish his career as one of the longest-tenured players in this era.

The Penn State alum kicked in 266 games; among players to make their debuts in the 21st century, that ranks ninth. Among kickers, that number ranks behind only Sebastian Janikowski. While other pre-21st-century specialists have that longevity beat, Gould proved dependable to the point he rarely ended up on the kicker workout circuit during his near-two-decade run. Overall, only 10 kickers played more games in NFL history than Gould.

Gould did bounce from the Patriots to the Ravens to the Bears in 2005, but upon signing with the Bears that October, he stayed in Chicago for 11 seasons. While the Bears cut him just before the 2016 campaign, Gould ended up with a playoff-bound Giants squad that year. The 49ers picked him up in 2017 and used him as their kicker for six seasons. Over the course of his career, Gould kicked in 16 playoff games and two Super Bowls — Super Bowl XLI with the Bears and Super Bowl LIV with the 49ers. During that Bears Super Bowl-bound 2006 season, Gould earned first-team All-Pro honors.

Not counting practice squad deals, Gould signed seven NFL contracts. Although kicker sits as one of the league’s lowest-paid positions, Gould made more than $47MM over the course of his career.

The Bears gave Gould a position-topping deal in 2008 (five years, $15.5MM) and extended him again near the end of the 2013 season. After kicking for less than $1MM with the Giants, Gould signed a $2MM-per-year deal with the 49ers. Reestablishing his value on that first San Francisco contract, Gould received the franchise tag in 2019. Just before that year’s July extension deadline, Gould and the 49ers then agreed to terms on a four-year, $19MM extension.

Although Gould demanded a trade after being tagged that year, he ended up playing a pivotal role during the team’s rise under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. After leading the NFL with a 97.1% make rate in 2018, Gould connected at on at least 84% of his kicks over the past two seasons. During the 2021 campaign, Gould made a game-winning kick that finished off a 49ers upset of the No. 1-seeded Packers on a snowy night at Lambeau Field. Gould also made a game-winner in the 2006 playoffs, eliminating the Seahawks in overtime and sending the Bears to their first NFC championship game since 1988. Gould’s 86.46% career make rate ranks ninth in NFL history. Gould finishes his career as one of the best postseason specialists in NFL history, making 29 of 29 field goal attempts and never missing an extra point.

Gould said in July he had spoken with teams and later took part in the above-referenced Giants audition in November, with the team aiming to find a Graham Gano fill-in. The 49ers had used a third-round pick on Michigan’s Jake Moody in April, ending Gould’s productive run in the Bay Area.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/23

December 6th, 2023 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Dolphins swapped out a young secondary defender for a veteran defensive lineman. McKinley came in to play as an undrafted rookie last year after some injuries to the secondary, starting two games and notching an interception. Ellis is a former starter for the Raiders, Ravens, and Giants and could add some serious depth to the Dolphins’ line.

Nchami comes in to fill the practice squad spot vacated when defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher was signed to the Saints’ active roster today.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Leonard, Cowboys, Giants, Commanders, Del Rio

December 6th, 2023 at 5:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shaquille Leonard‘s free agency decision brought additional intrigue due to its NFC East-only nature, and Jerry Jones said during an interview with 105.3 The Fan (h/t The Athletic’s Jon Machota) the chase did not come down to money. The Colts still owe Leonard $6.1MM guaranteed for the rest of this year. The sixth-year linebacker will collect $416K in prorated base salary from the Eagles, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. That checks in above the veteran minimum, and Yates adds the Eagles included a $100K incentive and $17K per game in roster bonuses.

Leonard played 2 1/2 seasons on a five-year, $98.5MM accord — one that topped the ILB market until the Ravens’ Roquan Smith deal earlier this year — but saw two 2022 back surgeries impact his career. Visiting both the Cowboys and Eagles (ahead of the NFC East powers’ rematch Sunday), Leonard said (via AllPhly.com’s Zach Berman) his bond with Nick Sirianni played a key role in the Eagles choice. Sirianni was the Colts’ OC from 2018-20, Leonard’s first three NFL seasons (all of which resulted in All-Pro honors). He will attempt to recapture that form ahead of another free agency run in 2024.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/4/23

December 4th, 2023 at 8:57pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

  • Designated to return from IR: LB Malik Hamm

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

  • Claimed off waivers (from Panthers): DB David Long

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Promoted: TE Josh Pederson

New York Giants

While the Giants haven’t activated Tyrod Taylor, the veteran QB is expected to be back on the active roster next Monday. In preparation, the team has moved on from Matt Barkley, who has been serving as the backup to Tommy DeVito since Daniel Jones went down with an injury. Barkley hasn’t seen the field for a regular season game since 2020, when he got into five games with the Bills.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/4/23

December 4th, 2023 at 5:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Monday’s taxi squad moves:

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

With Tyrod Taylor set to return to the Giants’ lineup in the coming days, New York has cleared out a spot on the practice squad for a third passer. Eason was added last month in the wake of Taylor’s rib injury, one which – coupled with Daniel Jones being out for the year – left the Giants short on healthy bodies at the QB position. Now that Taylor is healthy, Eason will look to find a new home. He has made one brief appearance with each of the Colts (2021) and Panthers (2022) during his career.

McSorley has bounced around the league since the end of his Ravens stint. He will now return to the AFC North in the wake of Pittsburgh losing starter Kenny Pickett for at least one game. The former has made nine career appearances and one start in the regular season.

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