GENO GETS THE JOB
Giants name former Jet backup QB; make deal for Steelers CB
It is official. Geno Smith has moved on from green to blue.
The former Jets starting quarterback made it through a summer battle with Josh Johnson to claim the backup job behind Eli Manning. Johnson was waived Saturday as the Giants trimmed their roster to the 53-player limit.
Smith making the team is no surprise. Neither is the release of Mike Nugent, which means NFL novice Aldrick Rosas will serve as the Giants’ kicker this season. Rosas, 22, hit all eight of his field goal attempts in the preseason to stave off the challenge from Nugent, a veteran who also did not miss any of his five field goal attempts.
There were no shockers and just a few mild surprises as the Giants shaped their roster — which will undergo a few tweaks in the coming days, when players start flying off the waiver wire. So, this is not the final roster the Giants will take into their season-opener against the Cowboys. But it is pretty darn close.
Needing depth at cornerback, the Giants acquired Ross Cockrell from the Steelers for a conditional 2018 draft pick. Cockrell, 26, started all 16 games last season. He was a 2014 fourthround pick of the Bills out of Duke.
Linebacker Mark Herzlich — the longest-tenured Giants player behind Manning, Zak DeOssie and Jason Pierre-Paul — was placed on injured reserve because of lingering concerns about his neck stinger. This could signal the end of the popular Herzlich’s career.
“We felt it was best to put Mark on IR this year and give him an opportunity to get healthy,” coach Ben McAdoo said. “He’ll still be involved with the team, whether it’s in the locker room, or in the meeting rooms.’’
Will Tye had 90 receptions the past two seasons for the Giants, but he did not stick — the tight end position was fortified by the signing of veteran Rhett Ellison and first-round draft selection of Evan Engram. For now, the Giants have four tight ends, as Jerell Adams and Matt LaCosse made it through.
Five of the six 2017 draft choices made the team — only offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty, the sixthround pick, did not, but he could land on the practice squad.
Three undrafted rookies made the team — fullback Shane Smith, offensive lineman Chad Wheeler and linebacker Calvin Munson — once again showing McAdoo embraces youth.
McAdoo said Wheeler, a threeyear starter at USC, “probably should have been drafted in the middle rounds somewhere. He
slid on the board and we were fortunate enough to get him as a free agent.’’ Munson will fill a special teams role and Smith corrects a mistake from last season, when the Giants went without a fullback.
It became apparent the Giants were leaning to Rosas when McAdoo gave him all the kicking opportunities last Thursday night against the Patriots. It became even more apparent Rosas would win the job after he hit a 48-yard game-winning field goal as time ran out in a 40-38 Giants victory.
Rosas will become the first first-year NFL kicker to start a season for the Giants since Matt Bryant in 2002.
“We know Aldrick has a big leg, and we really liked the way he responded throughout training camp and in the preseason games,” McAdoo said. “I think at the end of the day you go with the players who’s been here and has the biggest upside.”
Backup quarterback for the Giants is perhaps the least active position in the NFL, considering Manning is an ironman who has started 199 consecutive regularseason games. Still, the Giants need someone filling that role and they do not believe rookie Davis Webb, the No. 3 quarterback, is ready to handle that assignment.
Smith, 26, begins his fifth NFL season with a new team after showing glimpses of success but ultimately crashing and burning in his starting stint with the Jets.
Making an impressive recovery from ACL knee surgery, Smith was 36-of-54 for 355 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the preseason. Johnson was 22-of-34 for 239 yards and one touchdown. Smith irked McAdoo with the two interceptions but his upside is considered to be higher than Johnson’s.
“It was a close call,” McAdoo said. “Both men earned an opportunity and can play in this league.’’
McAdoo called his second cutdown as head coach “a challenging day’’ as players were sent packing.
“It’s a tough day every time you go through it,’’ McAdoo said. “The second year is probably harder than it was last year, considering the relationships you build with the men on the team.”