Kalif Raymond

Giants Sign LB Akeem Ayers, G John Greco

The Giants announced that they have signed linebacker Akeem Ayers and guard John Greco. They also placed linebacker Keenan Robinson (quad) on injured reserve and elevated wide receiver Kalif Raymond from the practice squad. To make room, they cut defensive end Devin Taylor and waived wide receiver Ed EaganAkeem Ayers (vertical)

Ayers auditioned for the Giants in September and again on Nov. 8. In the most recent workout, he apparently made a good impression on coaches. Ayers finished out last season with 18 tackles, two sacks, and one interception for the Colts. He graded out as the No. 54 edge defender in the NFL out of 110 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus’ metrics. He didn’t exactly set the world on fire last season, but he does offer experience as a starter from his time with the Titans (2011-2013) and Rams (2015). In 2014, he won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots.

Greco, 32, joined the Saints in early October but was released without having played a down. Injuries forced him to miss six total games from 2015-16 for the Browns, but he was effective while healthy. Last year, he graded as the league’s No. 18 guard among 75 qualifiers last season, per PFF. All told, Greco offers 111 games — and 70 starts — worth of experience.

The Giants aren’t playing for much at this point, but they are curious to see if Ayers, Greco, and Raymond can be worthwhile players for 2018.

Practice Squad Updates: 11/2/17

Today’s practice squad moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/17

Today’s practice squad updates:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

  • Released: T Storm Norton

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Washington Redskins

Giants Work Out Several WRs

In case you haven’t heard, the Giants are on the lookout for wide receiver help. On Wednesday, the Giants worked out a host of potential replacements, including Philly Brown, Demarcus Ayers, Kalif Raymond, Jeremy Ross, and Canaan SeverinPhilly Brown (vertical)

[RELATED: Giants Suspend CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie]

Of course, no one in the group offers the same name value as injured stars Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. But, here in mid-October, options are limited. Brown, a former standout at Ohio State, may offer the most potential of anyone in the group. He had 31 catches for 447 yards and four touchdowns in 2015 for the Panthers, though his yards-per-catch average dipped sharply in 2016.

If Sterling Shepard cannot go in Week 6, the Giants will have only Roger Lewis, Travis Rudolph, Tavarres King, and Ed Eagan at wide receiver.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/17

Today’s practice squad updates:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Workout Updates: 10/3/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

  • P Brock Miller (link)

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/26/17

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: LB Tre’von Johnson

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Jets Sign Kalif Raymond To Practice Squad

Kalif Raymond‘s muffed punt cost him a spot on the Jets’ roster earlier this week. On Thursday, he was welcomed back, but this time he’ll be on the practice squad. Kalif Raymond (vertical)

I’m not going to give any excuses,” Raymond said of his costly error in Week 2 against the Raiders (via ESPN.com). “You’ve got to catch the ball. On a punt return, you got to do it. That’s one of the easier kicks of the game that I took for granted.”

Raymond is technically listed as a wide receiver, but he has yet to catch a pass in his two NFL seasons. He earned his spot on the 53-man roster exclusively for his return skills, but the Jets felt they could no longer stick with him after he muffed two punts in Week 1 (both recovered by the Jets) and muffed another in Week 2.

The Jets are expected to put Jeremy Kerley on punt return duty in Week 3 against Miami.

Jets Waive KR/PR Kalif Raymond

There’s little room for error when you’re a punt returner. The Jets announced on Tuesday that they have released Kalif Raymond after his costly punt return fumble over the weekend.

The Jets got shellacked by the Raiders in Oakland and they’re hanging at least some of the blame on Raymond’s shaky hands. He muffed a punt towards the end of the first half and the Raiders quickly turned his error into a touchdown. Instead of going into the locker room down 14-10 (or perhaps in better shape than that, if the Jets ran an effective two minute drill), the Raiders took a 21-10 advantage. Things only got worse in the second act, of course, as Marshawn Lynch threw a dance party and the Raiders won 45-20.

Raymond was cut loose by Denver on cutdown weekend but was claimed off waivers by the Jets the next day. The Jets had top five waiver priority and it’s possible that other clubs submitted claims on him.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC East

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC East teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the BillsDolphinsPatriots, and Jets are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Jets