Giants cut WR C.J. Board, then re-sign him on busy day
Giants wide receiver C.J. Board leaps to catch a football during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center on July 28. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
If anyone can appreciate how tenuous and tumultuous NFL rosters are at this time of the year it is C.J. Board. The wide receiver has seen just about every aspect of that process in the past few days.
Board made the team on Tuesday when the Giants cut their team down from 80 to 53 players, was cut on Wednesday morning when the Giants were awarded three players off waivers, then re-signed with the team on Wednesday afternoon when two other players were placed on injured reserve.
The Giants also re-signed long-snapper Casey Kreiter on Wednesday, one day after cutting him and leaving that position vacant for a day. He and Board were brought back as the team put rookie LB Elerson Smith and veteran WR John Ross on injured reserve.
As for the waiver claims, the Giants were awarded second-year WR Collin Johnson and rookie LBs Quincy Roche and Justin Hillard from Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, respectively.
"These are guys that being young in their careers we obviously knew coming out of college," Joe Judge said of the newest additions off waivers. "They’re three guys that we’re looking forward to working with and developing and giving them a chance to come in here and compete."
To make room for them the Giants cut Board – temporarily, it turned out – along with fellow receiver Dante Pettis and linebacker Trent Harris. Their departures appear to be much more permanent. Then again, it’s the NFL in the days before the regular season opens up.
"This is the time of year there’s more roster movement in the league than at any other time of the year," Judge said. "It’s our job to do our due diligence and always know who’s out there, and any decision we make, it’s always for the best of the team."
Notes & quotes: Michael Strahan, the Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end who played his entire 15-year career for the Giants, will have his No. 92 jersey retired on Nov. 28 when the Giants host the Eagles. "He deserves to have his number retired as other Giants immortals have, including Mel Hein, Frank Gifford and Lawrence Taylor," team co-owner John Mara said. "We are happy to officially say no Giants player will ever wear No. 92 again." Strahan’s jersey retirement will be the second this season. On Sept. 26 Eli Manning’s No. 10 will be removed from circulation ... Judge would not confirm a report by The Athletic that second-year G Shane Lemieux is dealing with a partially torn patellar tendon in his knee, but said if he was it would be "very realistic" for him to try to play through that potentially debilitating injury. "He’s a tough guy already," Judge said noting that Lemiuex was scheduled to practice on Wednesday (and did) … The Giants have not received any information from the league regarding their Week 4 game against the Saints which is likely to be moved from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The NFL already moved the Saints’ Week 1 game from New Orleans to Jacksonville and coach Sean Payton said he expects the team to be working away from the city for the first quarter of the season. "Wherever they decide to play, that’s where we’ll be," Judge said … The Giants will practice on Thursday then the players will have three days off before returning on Monday to begin preparing in earnest for the Broncos on Sept. 12.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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