Giants' preseason finale Sunday is players' last chance to earn roster spot
Giants head coach Joe Judge steps on the field at the start of a joint practice with the Patriots on Wednesday in Foxborough, Mass. Credit: AP/Steven Senne
The starting units are scheduled to work the first half or more of Sunday’s preseason finale against the Patriots, which leaves many players with the second half or less to make a final push for a roster spot. The Giants, like all other NFL teams, must trim their roster from 80 to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
"There's still some jobs that are very competitive for the final 53," Joe Judge said on Friday. "We'll make sure we have enough film and evidence and exposure to make the right decisions . . . There is a clear picture for the majority of the roster, but there's still a lot of positions that are up for grabs."
While there has been over a month of football for the coaches to evaluate the players, Judge said that a strong performance Sunday could certainly boost a player from the precipice of getting cut to a spot on the team.
"It's never too late," he said. "This to me is more the (traditional) third preseason game where you're getting your guys as ready as you can for Week 1. At the same time, you’ve got to really go ahead and see a lot of other guys that are in competition and see if they could make that kind of lasting impression. We've had a lot of exposure, so one play is not going to make it, but it’s never too late."
Notes & quotes: WR Kadarius Toney (COVID-19/hamstring) will not play in Sunday’s preseason finale, but the Giants are very optimistic the first-round pick will be ready to make his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Broncos . . . The Giants re-signed rookie DB Jordyn Peters, who was waived by the team on Aug. 13, to give them a full 80-man roster for Sunday’s game. Peters takes the spot of K Ryan Santoso who was traded to the Panthers . . . Santoso kicked two field goals, including a 52-yarder, and three extra points for the Panthers on Friday to win their kicking job, which is good news for the Giants who received a conditional seventh-rounder for him and need him to be active for just two games for Carolina for the pick to be received. If the Giants get that pick they will have 11 picks in the 2022 draft, including seven in the first four rounds . . . The NFL announced LB Ryan Anderson has been suspended six games for violating the policy on performance enhancing substances. He will be eligible to return to the Giants on Oct. 18.
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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