The New York Giants have acquired offensive lineman Ben Bredeson and two future picks – a fifth-rounder in 2022 and seventh in 2023 – from the Baltimore Ravens for a 2022 fourth-round pick, one of a flurry of moves Tuesday as they whittled down to their initial 53-man roster.
Prior to the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline, the Giants released eight veterans – including long snapper Casey Kreiter, who the team expects to re-sign – and waived 17. In addition, they waived/injured wide receivers Alex Bachman and Austin Mack and placed offensive lineman Ted Larsen on injured reserve, ending their season.
Cornerback Aaron Robinson, Big Blue’s third-round pick this year, remains on PUP as well.
The cut veterans were: RB Corey Clement; OL Jonotthan Harrison, Chad Slade, and Kenny Wiggins; DT Willie Henry; LBs Ryan Anderson and Ifeadi Odenigbo; and Kreiter.
The waived included: QB Brian Lewerke; WR David Sills, Damion Willis, and Matt Cole; TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart and Jake Hausmann; RB Sandro Platzgummer; OL Jackson Barton, Jake Burton, and Brett Heggie; DL David Moa, Willie Henry, and Elijah Qualls; LB Devante Downs and Niko Lalas; and DB Madre Harper, Chris Johnson, and Jordyn Peters.
Bredeson, a fourth-round pick of the Ravens out of Michigan last year, played in 10 games for Baltimore. He, along with the acquisition of former Bengals lineman Billy Price on Monday, beefs up the final offensive line group that went through several iterations during camp.
While the projected starting five – tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart, guards Will Hernandez and Shane Lemieux, and center Nick Gates – remain intact, the G-Men saw a half-dozen depth acquisitions end up injured, waived, or retired.
Harrison and Slade were signed this offseason as depth, Larsen was just added on August 13 after Kyle Murphy was injured and later placed on IR after the Giants’ preseason opener, and free agent signings Zach Fulton and Joe Looney retired early in camp, the latter just five days after signing.
In addition, reports surfaced that Lemieux, who has missed most of camp with an undisclosed knee injury, is battling through a partially torn patella tendon. He participated in Tuesday’s walkthrough, and according to The Athletic, the plan is to play through it, as surgery either way (partially or fully torn) would likely end his season.
That report may help explain two trades in two days to bolster the line, but may bring into question the Giants’ move to only keep eight offensive linemen on the initial 53 – although, as cuts are finalized throughout the league, more moves are always possible before Sept. 12’s opener.
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