Who Made The New York Giants 53-man Roster and Who Didn’t? Breaking Down Each Position and Why

After going 1-2 in preseason, the New York Football Giants are all eyes looking forward to their home and season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. But before the G-Men faced their division rivals, tough decisions had to be made.

The ugly business side of the NFL arose as the 53-man roster deadline finally approached Tuesday afternoon. The most ruthless day for players and general managers around the country brought some shocking moves along with expected decisions.

Without further ado, let's dive into your New York Football Giants.

The initial 53-man roster is out.

Here are newcomers looking to make a big impact in 2023 ⤵️

📰: https://t.co/KqBXMbL4AA pic.twitter.com/pqublHL0i2

— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) August 29, 2023

New York Giants 53-man Roster

QBs

Daniel Jones
Tyrod Taylor

With no surprise here, the Giants are sticking with their same two as last year, with Daniel Jones as the starter and Tyrod Taylor as their backup. The odd man out was Tommy DeVito, who was waived and expected to land on the Giants practice squad. Despite DeVito’s good showing in preseason, the young rookie does not hold up against Taylor’s years of NFL experience.

Running Back

Saquon Barkley
Matt Breida
Gary Brightwell
Eric Gray

A little shocking that the Giants decided to take four running backs and not three. However, Gray will most likely take a good amount of reps on special teams as a punt returner. Barkley will be the starter, while the Giants use a three-man combo of Brieda, Brightwell and Gray as the number two. Odd men out are Jashaun Corbin and James Robinson.

Defensive Line

DJ Davidson
Dexter Lawrence II
Rakeem Nuñez-Roches
Jordon Riley
A’Shawn Robinson
Leonard Williams

Not too much that stands out to the eye, except for the fact that rookie Jordon Riley earned a spot on the roster over other veteran players. The Giants have loved Riley’s development and effort so far and his commitment has paid off. Odd men out are Ryder Anderson, Kobe Smith, Kevin Atkins, Brandin Bryant and Donovan Jeter.

Offensive Line

Ben Bredeson
Joshua Ezeudu
Mark Glowinski
Shane Lemieux
Marcus McKethan
Evan Neal
Matt Peart
John Michael Schmitz Jr.
Andrew Thomas

Once again, not really any surprises to this group. A lot of fans are angry that Peart is still on the team after a very rocky preseason, but with a lack of depth with this group, the Giants don’t really have any other choice than to keep Peart around with his NFL experience.

The only somewhat surprising move is Tyre Phillips getting the boot after he took over for Evan Neal last year. However, with him not playing a snap in preseason (injury) is what ultimately pushed him out the door. Odd men out are Tyre Phillips, Jack Anderson, Wyatt Davis, Korey Cunnigham, Julien Davenport and Sean Harlow.

Wide Receiver

Parris Campbell
Isaiah Hodgins
Jalin Hyatt
Wan’Dale Robinson
Sterling Shepard
Darius Slayton

After the Giants had the luxury of a large wide receiver group to choose from, Big Blue finally had to slim down the talented group. Not any crazy decision here, except for the fact that Robinson was taken off the PUP (physically unable to perform) list after not participating in pre-season (injury) and took a spot away from either David Sills or Collin Johnson.

Odd men out are Collin Johnson, Kalil Pimpleton, Cole Beasley, David Sills, Jamison Crowder, Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Jaydon Mickens.

Tight End

Daniel Bellinger
Lawrence Cager
Darren Waller

This group wasn’t really contested outside of Chris Myarick and Tommy Sweeney for that third spot, but with Myarick’s injury (hand) and Swenney’s non consistent production they decided to go with the three that have decent NFL experience. Odd men out are Ryan Jones, Chris Myarick and Tommy Sweeney.

Linebacker

Cam Brown
Carter Coughlin
Micah McFadden
Azeez Ojulari
Bobby Okereke
Isaiah Simmons
Kayvon Thibodeaux
Jihad Ward

The main interesting move the Giants made was terminating Oshane Ximes. The 2019 third round pick had gotten decent time over the years, but the young talent coming in took over his spot. The other interesting move was not keeping Darrian Beavers, the 2022 sixth round pick played some good minutes with the Giants last year, but same as Ximes his talent isn’t enough with all the newbies and veterans.

Odd men out are Habakkuk Baldonado, Tomon Fox, Ray Wilborn, Dyontae Johnson, Darrian Beavers and Oshane Ximes.

Defensive Backs

Deonte Banks
Dane Belton
Cor’Dale Flott
Tre Hawkins III
Darnay Holmes
Adoree’ Jackson
Bobby McCain
Nick McCloud
Xavier McKinney
Gervarrius Owens
Jason Pinnock

No surprise here with the defensive backs, it was a pretty straight forward group to begin with. Odd men out are Darren Evans, Zyon Gilbert, Alex Cook and Tashawn Bower.

Special Teams

Graham Gano
Jamie Gillan
Casey Kreiter

Absolutely no doubt with this group. The Giants didn’t even have anyone come out and compete with any of these three this offseason or in preseason, except for the long snapper position. Odd man out is Cameron Lyons

Who Didn’t Make the Giants 53-man Roster (Full List)

Waived/Released

Tommy DeVito (QB)
Collin Johnson (WR)
Jashaun Corbin (RB)
James Robinson (RB)
Kalil Pimpleton (WR)
Ryan Jones (TE)
Tyre Phillips (OT)
Jack Anderson (G)
Wyatt Davis (G)
Ryder Anderson (DT)
Kobe Smith (DT)
Habkkuk Baldonado (OLB)
Tomon Fox (OLB)
Ray Wilborn (LB)
Dyontae Johnson (LB)
Darrian Beavers (LB)
Kevin Atkins (LB)
Donovan Jeter (DT)
Gemon Green (CB)
Darren Evans (DB)
Zyon Gilbert (DB)
Alex Cook (S)
Cameron Lyons (LS)

Terminated

Oshane Ximines (OLB)
Tashawn Bower (DE)
Brandin Bryant (DT)
Amani Oruwariye (CB)
Korey Cunningham (OT)
Julien Davenport (OT)
Sean Harlow (OL)
Cole Beasley (WR)
David Sills (WR)
Jamison Crowder (WR)
Jaydon Mickens (WR)

Reserve/Injured

Bryce Ford-Wheaton (WR)
Chris Myarick (TE)

Reserve/Non-football

Tommy Sweeney (TE)

Outside of the roster moves retroactive to the 53-man roster, the Giants traded for defensive end Boogie Bashman (Bills). The Giants also picked up a 2025 seventh round pick in exchange for a 2025 sixth round pick. Schoen continues to cook this offseason, adding more depth behind Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari. Wink Martindale’s defense just got more scary.

New York Giants Captains

On top of the Giants announcing their 53-man roster, they also announced their captains for the 2023 season. It is a 10 man group with most players earning the honor for the second plus time, while Jackson, Okereke and Waller earn the honor for the first time with the Giants.