Whenever possible, the Giants, as with most teams, try to give the benefit of the doubt to their own draft picks when it comes to putting together thei﷽r roster. That tendency did not help four players yesterday in the first version of the Giantᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚs’ 53-man roster.
A former second-round pick, defensive tackle Marvin Austin, was among those waived on cut-down day. A former third-round pick, receiver Ramses Barden, was put on season-ending injured reserve with a knee injury. A former sixth-round p𝓰ick, safety Tyler Sash, was waived/injured with a concussion. Defensive end Adrian Tracy (sixth round, 2010) was also cut.
In a mild but n🧔ot overwhelming surprise, quarterback David Carr was released, beaten out by former Colt Curtis Painter, as the Giants will go with Eli ℱManning, Painter and rookie Ryan Nassib as their three quarterbacks.
“It’s always difficult to let a guy go that you’ve had with you for a whi🅘le,” coach Tom Coughlin said.
This will not be the Giants’ final roster. Teams can start making waiver claims today, and a player seemingl🌸y safe on the 53 one day can find himself on the way out the next.
As far as summer battles, Justin Trattou beat out Tracy in a fight of yo▨ung defensive ends. Rookie Michael Cox, the second-to-last player picked in the 2013 NFL Draft — number 253 — made the team and veteran running back Ryan Torain did not. Mike Patterson, 30, seemed like a long shot but the former Eagles starting defensive tackle came on🎐 strong, and after the Giants tried and failed to trade Austin, Patterson stayed and Austin departed.
Cornerback Terrell Thomas completed this phase of his comeback from two ACL surgeries in the pas𓆉t year, making the roster after showing the co⛦aching staff his right knee is sound.
With 75 players on their roster at the start of the day, the Giants needed to trim 20 players. They put defensive tackle Markus Kuhn on the reserve/physically unabl🅘e to perform list, meaning he will miss the first six games and he does not count on the roster. Also, safety Will Hill was put on the reserve/suspended list and he won’t count on the roster, set to serve a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
The rest of the cuts: DE Adewale Ojomo, DE Matt Broha, LB Kyle Bosworth; OL Eric Herman, OL Matt McCants, OL Stephen Goodin, OL Bryant Browning, S David Caldwell, CB Terrence Frederick, CB Charles James, WR Kevin Har🌠dy, WR Marcus Harris, WR Julian Talley and OL Selvish Capers (waived/injured).
Of the seven 2013 draft picks, Herman was the only one not to make the cut. Bosworth had 𓃲a strong camp and is a fine special teams player, but for now the Giants will go with only five linebackers. Running back Da’Rel Scott did not appear to have much of a chance to stick but Andre Brown’s broken left leg opened a spot, although Scott has to survive the next few days of roster manipulation. Larry Donnell didn’t do much this summer, but Adrien Robinson’s foot injury forced the Giants to keep four tight ends.
Austin, the 2011 second-round pick, never amounted to much. Injuries and non-production limited him to eight games (no starts) in two years and he will best be known for hurting the throwing shoulder of Mark Sanchez, a preseason injury that opened the door for 𒐪Geno Smith to be the Jets’ opening-day starter.
The Giants took a shot on Barden in the third rou💃nd of the 2009 NFL Draft but the statuesque receiver never deve🃏loped. In four years he had 29 receptions and no NFL touchdowns.
“It never gets eas🥃ier, because every year the principals involved are different,” said Coughlin, who yesterday turned 67. “My gut starts bothering me about two days before. The day of it I get the headache and the whole bit that goes with it. It’s not an easy thing to stand there when a young man walks into his office and as soon as you put your hand out, he starts crying.”