Giants Roster and Cap Check: Tracy, Edmunds on IR; Desrosiers Signed

Published Thursday, Oct. 29. This check was due Oct. 27.

The Giants placed running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. on injured reserve Oct. 27 and signed running back Gregory Desrosiers from the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad. On Oct. 24, the day before their 27-21 overtime win at Houston, they put linebacker Tremaine Edmunds on injured reserve and activated cornerback Paulson Adebo from it.

The 53-man roster is full after the moves. Desrosiers took Tracy's roster spot. The Giants did not add a linebacker for Edmunds: Adebo's activation took his roster spot, and Micah McFadden moved into the lineup.

The backfield

Tracy hurt his hamstring in the second quarter at Houston. He had scored three touchdowns in the previous two games, two rushing and one receiving. "This won't be something that's going to be long-term," general manager Joe Schoen said at a news conference Oct. 27.

Injured reserve holds Tracy out of at least four games: at Philadelphia on Nov. 8, against Washington on Nov. 12, against Jacksonville on Nov. 22 and at Indianapolis on Nov. 29. The bye does not count as a game, so his earliest game is Dec. 6 against San Francisco.

That leaves three running backs on the 53. Cam Skattebo ran 17 times for 124 yards at Houston, and Devin Singletary won the game with a 30-yard touchdown run in overtime. Desrosiers is an undrafted rookie who has not played in an NFL game. He played college football at Louisville, UMass and Memphis.

Because the Giants signed Desrosiers off another team's practice squad, the collective bargaining agreement requires them to pay him three weeks' salary and to count him on the 53 for three games, even if they release him sooner. A bye week counts as one of those games under that rule. Phil Mafah is the only running back on the practice squad. He has not been elevated this season, so all three of his standard elevations are available.

The linebackers

Edmunds was listed with a shoulder injury on the team's Week 7 injury report, missed all three practices and was ruled out Oct. 23. The team has not given a timeline for his return.

The Houston game was the first of the four Edmunds must miss, so he cannot play before Nov. 29 at Indianapolis.

Edmunds played every defensive snap in the first six games. McFadden, who had played two defensive snaps all season, played all 61 at Houston beside Arvell Reese. The 53 lists five linebackers: Reese, McFadden, Malik Harrison, Zaire Barnes and Jack Kelly. Chandler Martin is the only linebacker on the practice squad.

Injured reserve: who can come back, and when

The Giants have used two of their eight return designations this season: on cornerback Korie Black when they set the 53 on Aug. 30, and on Adebo on Oct. 21. Adebo returned to practice that day, was activated three days later and played all 61 defensive snaps at Houston. Braxton Berrios, Chauncey Golston, Edmunds and Tracy are each eligible by rule to return later this regular season, and each would need one of the remaining six designations to do it. Brian Burns is eligible by rule from Nov. 8; coach John Harbaugh said Sept. 28 that Burns tore his ACL and would have surgery.

Practice squad elevations

Jalin Hyatt and Raheem Layne were the Giants' only elevations for Houston, the first of the season for each. Hyatt played four offensive snaps and six on special teams, and Layne played 11 on special teams. Both are back on the practice squad. The 53 lists four wide receivers: Malik Nabers, Darnell Mooney, Charlie Jones and Malachi Fields. Berrios, Calvin Austin III and Gunner Olszewski are on injured reserve.

Trace Ford used his third elevation Oct. 17 and was signed to the 53 three days later. The quarterback room did not change: J.J. McCarthy, Jameis Winston and Jake Haener are on the 53, and there is no quarterback on the practice squad. On the practice squad, the Giants released wide receiver Jason Brownlee, who signed Oct. 20, and added defensive lineman Dean Lowry, a veteran of 132 games whose last regular-season game was Dec. 21, 2024.

The cap

Over the Cap listed the Giants' 2026 cap space at $7,407,196 at about 9:30 p.m. ET Oct. 29. The site had not processed the Oct. 24 or Oct. 27 moves. It still lists Edmunds and Tracy in its active roster table and Brownlee on the practice squad, and it does not list Desrosiers or Lowry. It does show the Oct. 20 moves: Najee Harris' $1,075,000 and $179,166 of Jihad Ward's salary are in dead money, and Josh Sills is on the roster at $763,333. Spotrac's Giants page showed only figures from March on the night of Oct. 29, so this check has no second figure.

Injured reserve opens a roster spot but does not take a salary off the cap. Edmunds' $5,560,784 cap charge and Tracy's $1,146,588 stay on the books.

Schoen said Oct. 27 that he and Harbaugh would review the roster and the trade market during the bye. "We'll also talk about the trade candidates and start having those conversations," he said. He continued: "This year is a little bit different where we are. We have 14 days until the trade deadline, so we still have some time there." He said the team would also weigh whether to spend draft picks and money on players from outside the building.

The Giants (4-2-1) play at Philadelphia on Nov. 8. The trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 10.