The Giants started to pare down the roster on Friday, the day after their preseason finale, by releasing eight players: wide receivers Jordan Bly, Montrell Washington and Zach Pascal; inside linebackers K.J. Cloyd and Dyontae Johnson; offensive linemen Jimmy Morrissey and Jaison Williams; and cornerback O’Donnell Fortune.
Over the weekend, they also released veteran safety K’Von Wallace and placed cornerback TJ Moore on injured reserve. The undrafted rookie had a pick-six against the Patriots on Thursday night but later suffered a leg injury and underwent surgery.
Dimukeje, who played his first four seasons with the Cardinals before signing with the Giants in free agency, suffered a pectoral injury over the offseason and was on the non-football injury list.
Gray was placed on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp with a knee injury.
“I’ve said a number of times, these days, these couple days we’ve had, they’re always tough on players, on their families, on their teammates, on coaches, on staff members,” coach Brian Daboll said Tuesday before the moves were finalized. “We understand that. That’s the nature of the NFL.”
By and large, the Giants will move full steam ahead with the roster as it currently stands.
All seven picks in the Giants’ 2025 draft class made the roster in addition to one undrafted rookie, Beaux Collins. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound wide receiver played three seasons at Clemson before transferring to Notre Dame in 2024. One of the top highlights of the summer was Russell Wilson’s 80-yard completion to Collins in the annual preseason meeting with the Jets. Collins also drew praise for his role on special teams, which often makes or breaks a spot on the roster.
Of the 23 players released, 14 had appeared in a regular-season game for the Giants: Chatman, DeVito, Dulcich, Durden, Fox, Garcia, Hawkins, Kubas, Layne, McAtamney, Miller, Smith-Marsette, Riley, and Dee Williams.
The release of DeVito, the New Jersey native who famously won three consecutive games as an undrafted rookie in 2023 and started eight games over the past two seasons, means the Giants will move ahead with the three-man quarterback room of Wilson, Jameis Winston and rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart. DeVito was the only quarterback with previous Giants experience heading into the offseason.
General Manager Joe Schoen will hold a press conference with Daboll on Wednesday to discuss the roster.
“I’d say we have a number of conversations about a lot of different things and then coaches, scouts, Joe and his staff, me, my staff, and we just try to do what we think is right for the team and come to a general consensus,” Daboll said. “It’s good conversations. There’s plenty of them that we’ve had for I’d say a number of weeks and then once [the roster] comes out at 4, we’re just trying to do the best we can and keep the guys we think will help us the most.”
Here is a look at the initial 53-man roster, sorted alphabetically by position:
OFFENSE (26)
Jaxson Dart
Russell Wilson
Jameis Winston
Jermaine Eluemunor
James Hudson III
Marcus Mbow
Evan Neal
Jon Runyan Jr.
Austin Schlottmann
John Michael Schmitz Jr.
Aaron Stinnie
Andrew Thomas
Greg Van Roten
Beaux Collins
Jalin Hyatt
Malik Nabers
Gunner Olszewski
Wan’Dale Robinson
Darius Slayton
Devin Singletary
Cam Skattebo
Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Daniel Bellinger
Thomas Fidone II
Theo Johnson
Chris Manhertz
DEFENSE (24)
Darius Alexander
D.J. Davidson
Chauncey Golston
Dexter Lawrence II
Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Sr.
Roy Robertson-Harris
Brian Burns
Abdul Carter
Kayvon Thibodeaux
Chris Board
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
Micah McFadden
Darius Muasau
Bobby Okereke
Paulson Adebo
Deonte Banks
Korie Black
Cor’Dale Flott
Art Green
Nic Jones
Dru Phillips
Dane Belton
Jevón Holland
Tyler Nubin
SPECIALISTS (3)