The New York Giants cut their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday.
Unlike in recent years, the exercise was a difficult one as the Giants had more depth in training camp this season
Here are the five biggest surprise cuts the Giants made on Tuesday.
OL Tyre Phillips cut
The Giants are the at tackle behind Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal and cutting Tyre Phillips means Matt Peart becomes the ‘swing’ tackle.
That’s not very comforting given the inconsistent showing Peart gave this summer in camp and in preseason games.
Phillips can also play inside, and given the coaches’ desire to have flexibility on the offensive line, this move seems a bit surprising.
Phillips did have a leg issue for the latter part of camp, so perhaps they are temporarily letting him go with designs to bring him back at some point.
LB Oshane Ximines
Oshane Ximines was on the bubble heading into the final preseason game and once again failed to distinguish himself.
The addition of Isaiah Simmons and Carlos Basham Jr. (Boogie Basham) via trades sealed Ximines’ fate as well as Tomon Fox’s fate.
LB Tomon Fox
…and there it is. Fox had another solid camp and preseason but the Giants want to add talent and speed to the defense and could not pass up on deals for Simmons and Basham.
It’s a numbers game for Fox, though. He should land somewhere else, most likely on the Giants’ practice squad.
WR Cole Beasley
Cole Beasley was dogged by a leg injury the past few weeks after coming on strong in the Giants’ first preseason game in Detroit.
The activation of Wan’Dale Robinson on Tuesday morning from the PUP list likely pushed him off the roster.
Beasley is expected to be signed back to the practice squad or active roster over the next 24 hours.
LB Darrian Beavers
Darrian Beavers missed his rookie season with a torn ACL and was behind another second-year player, Micah McFadden, for the inside linebacker role next to Bobby Okereke.
The addition of Isaiah Simmons last week ramped up the competition and there’s simply no room for Beavers at this time.
