EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – And the transactions go on.
The roster fluidity that Brian Daboll spoke of yesterday was in effect today, when the Giants added two players to their roster, removed two to make room for them, and signed 15 players to their practice squad.
Safety Anthony Johnson, Jr. and linebacker/special teamer Curtis Bolton are the newest Giants. They take the place of safety Gervarrius Owens, who was waived, and linebacker Dyontae Johnson, who was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Because he was on the original 53-man roster, Johnson is eligible to return this season.
In releasing Owens and adding the 6-0, 205-pound Johnson, the Giants swapped second-year safeties who were selected 12 picks apart in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Johnson, the 242nd selection in the draft last year, played in 12 regular-season games with four starts and played in two playoff games as a Packers rookie. He made 23 tackles (17 solo) and had one interception and three passes defensed. Johnson made his NFL debut at Denver on Oct. 23 and played in the season's final 12 games. He made his first start vs. the Rams on Nov. 5. Johnson started and had a season-high eight tackles (seven solo) at Detroit on Thanksgiving.
View photos of the New York Giants' 2024 active roster as it currently stands.
Owens was chosen 254th in the 2023 draft. As a rookie, he played in three games and recorded one tackle and one fumble recovery on special teams at Washington on Nov. 19. Owens injured his knee in the preseason opener and did not play in the final two games.
Bolton, 6-0 and 228 pounds, is entering his fourth NFL season. He spent the previous two years with the Las Vegas Raiders and played five games for the Detroit Lions in 2021. Bolton has also been with Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, San Francisco and Miami, which released him yesterday.
He has played in 28 regular-season games in which he participated in 491 snaps on special teams and 16 on defense. Bolton's 2023 breakdown in 13 games was 15/253, both career highs.
Johnson spent the entire 2023 season on the Giants' practice squad after joining the team as an undrafted rookie. He performed impressively in training camp before spraining his ankle in the preseason opener vs. Detroit on Aug. 8.
All but one of the practice squad players was with the Giants in training camp. The exception is linebacker Ty Summers, who was cut Monday by the Lions.
He has played in 67 regular-season games for Green Bay, New Orleans, and Jacksonville, with one start for the Packers, for whom he also appeared in four postseason games. Like Bolton, Summers has seen most of his action on special teams. Last year with the Saints, he played 303 special teams snaps and none on defense.
The other members of the practice squad are wide receivers Isaiah Hodgins and Miles Boykin, tight end Lawrence Cager, tight end/fullback Jakob Johnson, tackles Joshua Miles and Marcellus Johnson, linebackers Tomon Fox and K.J. Cloyd, running back Dante Miller, defensive tackle Casey Rogers, defensive backs Raheem Layne and Alex Johnson, center Jimmy Morrissey, and kicker Jude McAtamney.
The Giants receive an international exemption, so McAtamney, a native of Ireland, doesn't count toward the 16-player practice squad limit.
They have room for two more practice squad players, and Owens is a candidate to fill one of the spots.
View photos of every move made by the Giants during the 2024 cycle.
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