Giants Cut Preseason Standout, Reunite With Draft Pick

Getty The New York Giants cut linebacker K.J. Cloyd off the practice squad.

The New York Giants were able to re-sign safety Gervarrius Owens after he passed through waivers on August 30.

Per NorthJersey.com beat reporter Art Stapleton, the 2023 draft pick will re-join the NYG practice squad in place of preseason standout linebacker K.J. Cloyd. The latter led the Giants in preseason tackles this summer with 21, but as Stapleton pointed out, Big Blue just improved their linebacker depth when they brought in veteran Curtis Bolton on August 28.

That allows them to part with the undrafted rookie linebacker.

Giants Safety Gervarrius Owens’ Chaotic Few Days Serves as an NFL Reminder

The NFL can be a cruel business sometimes, and both Owens and Cloyd’s past few days are the perfect example of that.

Owens made the initial 53-man roster despite rumors that he might have been the final cut. Then, one day later, he was actually cut after the Giants claimed new safety Anthony Johnson Jr.

While briefly unemployed, Owens had to await waivers and see if he’d have to pick up his life and move. Finally, he was able to remain in New York and accept a practice squad offer.

Similarly, Cloyd missed the cut only to think he made the practice squad. Now, the rookie is looking for his next opportunity.

The upper echelon of athletes earns a substantial amount of money per year, so it’s easy to forget that the bottom-tier players put their bodies through the wringer with no guarantee of financial stability long-term. After all, “roster gymnastics” happen all the time in sports.

Stapleton relayed another example of this on August 30 after speaking with new Giants practice squad defensive tackle Elijah Garcia.

“Chatted with former [Denver] Broncos DT Elijah Garcia yesterday and his head was still spinning after a hectic 48 hours,” Stapleton said. “He was waived Tuesday at the deadline. Driving away from the facility in Denver, his agent called and [the] Giants said they were interested in having him join the PS if he cleared waivers.”

“Once he did, Garcia had to get on a plane in Denver on Wednesday,” the reporter continued. “The tram at the airport was down. He was in a panic. Just made the flight to NJ. The weather was sketchy Wednesday night, so his flight was diverted to Washington.

“Finally got to NJ around 1 a.m. Thursday, roughly 7 hours on plane. Checked into hotel, had to be up by 7 for his physical with Giants yesterday a.m. On the team, in meetings and at practice yesterday.”

A “hectic” couple of days indeed.

Giants Make Things Official & Re-Sign CB Adoree’ Jackson

The Big Blue starting cornerback situation has been described as a “serious issue” as recently as August 21. And yet, the Giants did not claim any CBs after the 53-man cutdown.

Instead, they’ll finalize a deal to reunite with veteran cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. Stapleton confirmed the news just after the Owens reunion on August 30.

Earlier in the day on August 30, NFL insider Jordan Schultz first broke the Jackson story when he revealed that the former first-round talent was visiting Giants facilities for a physical. “Negotiations are underway on a deal to bring him back,” Schultz added, noting that the two sides were “very interested” in working out a deal. Now they have.

Jackson has started 36 games for the Giants over the past three seasons. After hitting free agency this spring, the CB went unsigned and has drummed up little interest throughout the offseason.

Aside from his obvious connection to Brian Daboll’s coaching staff, Jackson was also with new Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen in Tennessee from 2018 through 2020 — but it was before his promotion to coordinator. Bowen was the outside linebackers coach for the Titans while overlapping with Jackson.