There were no shocking cuts for the Giants on Friday as they finalized
their 53-man roster before the 9 p.m. deadline, but that doesn’t mean a
few familiar names weren’t jettisoned.
The two most recognizable
names were running back D.J. Ware and inside linebacker Greg Jones, who
were early cuts for the Giants Friday afternoon. Ware played in 30
games for the Giants over the past two seasons and had 46 carries a year
ago. But Ware ran into a numbers problem in the backfield. After the
Giants drafted David Wilson in the first round this year it was obvious
one back would have to go. In the end, the team chose to keep Andre
Brown. Running back Da’Rel Scott also made the roster, though he’s been
impressive on special teams as well, including a blocked punt this
preseason.
“Greg Jones was a very difficult decision to make,”
head coach Tom Coughlin said. “Danny Ware was here for a while and any
time you have those relationships with people, it’s tough to see them
go. Fortunately, these are men and they understand that decisions have
to be made.”
Jones played in all 16 games as a rookie in 2011 and
had 31 tackles. He also played on special teams. It seems unlikely he
would make it through waivers, which would allow the Giants to put him
on the practice squad.
The Giants also announced they placed
cornerback Terrell Thomas and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers on injured
reserve. Thomas missed all of last season with a torn ACL and reinjured
it again this preseason. Thomas will not undergo surgery, however, and a
new NFL rule allows teams to bring back one player from the IR this
season under certain conditions. Rogers is dealing with blood clots and
Coughlin stated earlier this preseason that he was likely out for the
season even though some improvement was seen recently.
The full list of cuts:
LB Greg Jones
RB D.J. Ware
WR David Douglas
CB Bruce Johnson (waived/injured)
WR Dan DePalma
DE Craig Marshall
DE Matt Broha
DT Dwayne Hendricks
LB Jake Muasau
TE Larry Donnell
OL Matt McCants
OL Selvish Capers
OL Stephen Goodin
QB Ryan Perrilloux
DB Laron Scott
DT Marcus Thomas
WR Isaiah Stanback
OL Chris White
CB Dante Hughes
DB Tyler Sash (suspended)
CB Terrell Thomas (IR)
DT Shaun Rogers (IR)
A
few names that didn’t make the list include safety Will Hill, a New
Jersey native, who played in the Arena Football League last year after
going undrafted in 2011. He was an elite recruit at Florida, but was
dismissed after violating team rules. He’d had an impressive preseason
and likely benefited from Sash’s four-game drug suspension.
Undrafted
free agent Adewale Ojomo out of Miami also made the final roster. The
defensive end was unblockable at times this preseason. He led the team
in sacks with four in four preseason games.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.
