Giants Roster and Cap Check: Golston to Injured Reserve, 53rd Spot Still Open, Cap Databases $19,704 Apart
The Giants have not signed a defensive back since Colton Hood and Tyler Nubin left Sunday’s 27-27 tie at Washington. Spotrac now lists more Giants cap space than Over the Cap, which was higher on Oct. 9.
The Giants placed defensive lineman Chauncey Golston on injured reserve Saturday and have not filled his roster spot. As of midday Tuesday, the active roster has stood at 52 players for three days.
The Oct. 10 move is on the giants.com transaction wire and the NFL.com reserve list wire. The same day, the Giants elevated wide receiver Dalen Cambre and outside linebacker Trace Ford from the practice squad. Those are the only Giants transactions on either wire since our Week 5 roster and cap check on Oct. 9.
Neither wire shows an injured reserve move for right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, cornerback Colton Hood or safety Tyler Nubin. Neither shows a defensive back signing.
| Roster | Oct. 9 | Oct. 13 |
|---|---|---|
| Active roster | 53 | 52 |
| Practice squad | 17 | 17 |
| Injured reserve | 10 | 11 |
Golston
Golston has not played since he hurt his neck in the Oct. 4 win over Arizona. Giants coach John Harbaugh said Oct. 7 that the injury “could be” long term (transcript). The Giants announced the move Saturday without a corresponding signing. Under league rules, he must miss at least four games.
The move followed a restructure of his contract, which Spotrac’s Giants transaction log dates Oct. 5. The log shows the Giants converted $3,362,500 of his 2026 salary into a signing bonus and created $1,681,250 in 2026 cap space. Over the Cap and Spotrac both carry Golston’s 2026 cap number at $5,201,103, and both now list him on injured reserve.
The Giants played Sunday’s 27-27 tie at Washington with 52 players on the active roster plus the two elevated players.
Elevations
Standard elevations revert after the game, and the giants.com roster again lists Cambre and Ford on the practice squad. Neither wire lists the reversions.
Ford has used two of his three elevations for the season, on Oct. 3 and Oct. 10. Cambre has used one. Linebacker Malik Harrison used all three in September, so the Giants would have to sign him to the 53 to play him again.
Injuries
Safety Jason Pinnock (concussion) was inactive at Washington. Hood (concussion), Nubin (neck) and Eluemunor (calf) left the game. Harbaugh said Monday, “The three main guys are going to be day-to-day this week. They’ll have a chance for the game” (transcript). Giants.com’s Week 6 tracker identifies the three as Eluemunor, Hood and Nubin.
The practice squad has two defensive backs: safety Raheem Layne and cornerback Jaden Robinson. Cornerback Paulson Adebo has been on injured reserve since Sept. 18. Asked Monday whether the Giants would open his practice window this week, Harbaugh said, “We’ll see.” Cornerback Korie Black has been on injured reserve with a return designation since Aug. 30. Pinnock, Hood and Nubin all remain on the active roster.
The practice squad
SNY reported Monday that the Giants are signing defensive end Dawuane Smoot to the practice squad after working him out along with Yannick Ngakoue and Julian Okwara. As of midday Tuesday, the signing is not on the giants.com wire or NFL.com’s signings wire, and Smoot is not on the giants.com roster.
The practice squad is full. It has 17 players, including international player Jarrod Gray, who does not count against the 16-player limit. Signing Smoot would require a corresponding practice squad move.
The kicker
Dominic Zvada missed three of his five field-goal attempts in Sunday’s tie, from 50, 57 and 46 yards, as our recap details. Neither wire shows a kicker signing, and Zvada is the only kicker on the giants.com roster, active or practice squad.
The cap
| Site | Oct. 9 | Oct. 13 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotrac | $10,081,268 | $9,880,552 | -$200,716 |
| Over the Cap | $10,381,681 | $9,860,848 | -$520,833 |
| Difference | $300,413 (Over the Cap higher) | $19,704 (Spotrac higher) |
Over the Cap has now processed most of the Oct. 7 and Oct. 10 moves. Its page lists 52 players on the active roster, with Golston and wide receiver Braxton Berrios on injured reserve, quarterback Jake Haener on the active roster and wide receiver Dontae Fleming on the practice squad. Its practice squad list still includes offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, whom the Giants released Oct. 2. It does not list Cambre or defensive lineman P.J. Mustipher, both on the giants.com practice squad.
Spotrac carries separate charges for each elevation: $55,833 for Cambre’s and $49,167 for each of Ford’s two.
Neither site publishes a reconciliation of its total. We could not tie the $300,413 gap from Oct. 9, or this week’s $19,704 gap, to specific line items, and both remain unexplained.
Spotrac now charges Jihad Ward $895,833, the same as Over the Cap; our Week 5 check reported Spotrac’s figure as $836,108. The sites still split J.J. McCarthy’s $1,075,000 base salary differently: Over the Cap charges the Giants $895,833 and Spotrac $836,108, a $59,725 difference.
The Giants host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Oct. 18.