Why the Giants' 53rd Roster Spot Is Still Empty

The Giants have 52 players on their 53-man roster, with four days left before Sunday's opener against Dallas. Filling the vacant spot with a vested veteran now would guarantee that player's full 2026 base salary under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Adding one later through a practice-squad elevation would not.

Patricia Traina, who has covered the Giants for more than 30 years, wrote Sept. 8 for New York Giants On SI that the math explains the empty spot. "If I'm the Giants, I leave the roster open and make the two standard practice-squad elevations: Braxton Berrios and a defensive lineman," she wrote. "Then after Week 1 is in the books, I fill the open spot with Berrios." Traina framed that as her own read of the situation, not a confirmed team plan. As of Sept. 9, no Giants official had addressed the empty roster spot directly.

The relevant rule is Article 30 of the CBA. A player with four or more years of credited service under the NFL's Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle Retirement Plan who is on a team's active or inactive list on or after the date of that team's first regular-season game is owed his full remaining base salary for the season, even if he's released afterward. It's commonly shortened to a "salary guarantee," though the agreement's formal term is Termination Pay. A practice-squad elevation doesn't trigger it — Article 33 exempts elevated players from that claim. That's a separate mechanism from a player's own contract-guaranteed money; Darius Slayton's contract included guaranteed money of its own before he was released.

The Giants moved up their deadline for setting the initial 53-man roster this year. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported clubs had to cut to 53 by 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, rather than the traditional Tuesday cutoff. Slayton made that roster. The team released him Monday, Sept. 7, a move that leaves a $12,749,995 charge against the salary cap as a post-June-1 designation, according to Over The Cap. That left the 53rd spot open.

Braxton Berrios, Charlie Jones and Jake Haener remain on the Giants' 17-man practice squad. Berrios has enough accrued seasons to qualify as a vested veteran and didn't have to clear waivers to join the practice squad. ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported Aug. 31 that the expectation is Berrios gets elevated for the home opener and eventually lands on the 53-man roster. Jones is listed at four accrued seasons on the Giants' own roster page, which raises a question about whether he's completed that fourth season and would count as a vested veteran under Article 30. That isn't resolved. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Sept. 7 that the Giants plan to sign defensive lineman Dean Lowry to the practice squad. He wasn't on it as of Sept. 9.

General manager Joe Schoen addressed the practice squad at a Sept. 2 news conference, before Slayton's release. "We've got a couple of vets on the practice squad, probably going to sign another one next week," he said, according to a Giants.com transcript. Schoen didn't name a specific plan for the open roster spot.

The next deadline is Saturday, Sept. 12, when clubs must set their practice-squad elevations for Week 1. The Giants host Dallas on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 8:20 p.m.