The Giants made a slew of roster changes ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Vikings, adding wide receiver Golden Tate and rookie linebacker Josiah Tauaefa. Tate returns from his four-game PED suspension, and Tauaefa earned a promotion from the practice squad.
Yet to play a down for the Giants this season, Tate signed a four-year, $37.5 million contract with Big Blue in March. In year 10 of his career, Tate adds a veteran presence to the Giants offense led by rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
Promoting Tauaefa to the 53-man roster gives the Giants added depth at linebacker after losing Ryan Connelly to a torn ACL in their Week 4 victory against the Redskins. The injured Connelly impressed as a rookie linebacker during his abbreviated season. Tauaefa, who joined the Giants as an undrafted free agent in May, led the team with 16 tackles during the preseason.
To make room for Tate and Tauaefa, the Giants are releasing two wideouts, Bennie Fowler and T.J. Jones.
Fowler departs the Giants as their third leading pass-catcher with 12 receptions, but only two of those came from new starting quarterback Daniel Jones. T.J. Jones' release comes after the wideout muffed two punts last week. T.J. Jones caught one touchdown for the Giants this season, coming from Eli Manning in their Week 2 game against the Bills. With Manning relegated to the bench, T.J. Jones may have caught the two-time Super Bowl champion's final touchdown pass with the Giants.
