The New York Giants released linebacker Justin Hilliard on Thursday.
They will fill the open roster spot with linebacker Austin Calitro, a well-traveled player who has appeared in 47 regular season games with nine starts for Seattle, Jacksonville, Denver and Cincinnati.
The Giants are Calitro’s 11th NFL stop since being signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Villanova in 2017.
The Giants claimed Hilliard off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers last year. He played two games, predominantly on special teams before landing on season-ending injured reserve in mid-October.
Hillard, a former Ohio State Buckeye, was suspended in June for the first two games of the upcoming season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy.
As stated by Mike Garafolo above, Hilliard is more of a 4-3 linebacker who is not a logistical fit for new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s 3-4 scheme.
