EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants continued to shape their regular-season roster today by adding three players via the waiver wire.
The newest Giants are second-year wide receiver Collin Johnson (who was waived yesterday by Jacksonville) and rookie linebackers Quincy Roche (Pittsburgh) and Justin Hilliard (San Francisco).
To create room on the 53-man roster, the Giants terminated the contract of wide receiver C.J. Board and waived wideout Dante Pettis and linebacker Trent Harris.
View photos of the New York Giants' active 53-man roster as it currently stands.
Johnson, 6-6 and 220 pounds, was a 2020 fifth-round draft choice by the Jaguars, No. 165 overall, from the University of Texas. As a rookie, he played in 14 games and caught 18 passes for 272 yards (15.1-yard avg.) and two touchdowns with a long reception of 46 yards.
He caught his first pass, a 14-yarder, in his NFL debut vs. Indianapolis on Sept. 13 in the Jaguars' only victory of the season. Johnson scored his first touchdown, on a four-yard throw from Garner Minshew, at Houston on Oct. 11. He had season-high totals of four receptions for 96 yards passes, including a season-long 46-yard touchdown thrown by current Giants backup quarterback Mike Glennon, against Cleveland on Nov. 29 and added four more catches for 66 yards the following week at Minnesota.
This preseason, he caught two passes, including a 24-yard touchdown at New Orleans.
In 42 games at Texas, Johnson had 188 receptions for 2,624 yards and 15 touchdowns.
View photos of new Giants wide receiver Collin Johnson.
Roche, 6-3 and 245 pounds, was a sixth-round draft choice by Pittsburgh, No. 216 overall, from the University of Miami. He had five tackles (three solo), including 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits in the preseason.
Roche played three seasons at Temple University before finishing his collegiate career with the Hurricanes last year. In 49 games, he had 30.5 sacks, including 13.0 with Temple in 2019 and 4.5 for Miami last year.
View photos of new Giants linebacker Quincy Roche.
Hilliard, 6-1 and 231 pounds, was signed by the 49ers as a rookie free agent on May 13 and released yesterday. In the preseason, he led the 49ers with 18 tackles – seven more than anyone else on the team – including nine unassisted stops. Hilliard had two tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.
At Ohio State, Hilliard played in 50 games with seven starts and registered 84 tackles, including nine for loss, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
Board was awarded off waivers to the Giants on Aug. 13, 2020, two days after he was released by Jacksonville. In his first season with the Giants, Board played in 14 games with four starts and caught 11 passes for 101 yards, with a long reception of 16 yards. He had a season-high three receptions for 32 yards at Chicago on Sept. 20. He also returned two kickoffs for 54 yards and one punt for six yards. Board had two special teams tackles.
Pettis was awarded off waivers to the Giants on Nov. 4, 2020, one day after his release by the 49ers. He played in the season's final two games for the Giants, for whom he caught four passes for 76 yards and one touchdown. Pettis had two receptions for 33 yards in his Giants debut at Baltimore on Dec. 27 and two for 43 yards, including his first Giants touchdown on a 33-yard pass from Daniel Jones with 45 seconds remaining in the second quarter, vs. Dallas on Jan. 3.
Harris was first signed to the Giants' practice squad on Oct. 14, 2020 and to the active roster on Oct. 17, 2020. He played in four games with two starts at linebacker and was credited with five tackles (one solo), a half-sack and one quarterback hit.
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