The New York Giants made a lot of changes in the offseason, forcing a lot of internal turnover. Coming out of the team's mandatory minicamp, the Giants have roughly two months to finalize their official 2025 roster.
After going 3-14 in 2024, change was necessary for the Giants in the 2025 offseason. New York overhauled its entire roster, starting with its quarterback. General manager Joe Schoen benched Daniel Jones midway through the year, forcing the team to tank the remainder of its schedule and seek a permanent replacement at the end of the season. They solved both issues by signing Russell Wilson in free agency and trading up for Jaxson Dart in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In addition to Wilson, the Giants also signed Jameis Winston, Jevon Holland, Paulson Adebo, Chauncey Golston and Roy Robertson-Harris in free agency. The following month, they added Abdul Carter, Darius Alexander, Marcus Mbow and Cam Skattebo in the draft. Given their big free agent acquisitions and exciting draft class, New York has a strong case for winning the 2025 offseason.
However, given the Giants' new and improved roster, several returning players will not make the final roster. Hundreds of veterans get cut each year, but New York has more weight to shed in the coming months than it had in previous years. The team has no reason not to push for a playoff spot in 2025, putting a lot of weight on its final decisions.
RB Eric Gray
New York Giants running back Eric Gray (20) waits to receive the ball during a kickoff during a game between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024.
Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
When the Giants took Cam Skattebo in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, it all but signaled the end of the road for Eric Gray. The former fifth-round pick has just 31 carries in his two-year career for 79 total rushing yards.
With Skattebo in the picture, Gray fell to fourth on the Giants' running back depth chart. The true pecking order will be determined in the preseason, but Skattebo figures to slot in as the short-yardage complement to starter Tyrone Tracy Jr., with Devin Singletary still in the mix as the third string. Gray, who was never used much to begin with, is the clear odd man out.
Gray has been most effective throughout his professional career as a third-down receiving back. His 82 receiving yards in 2024 were more than his career rushing yards. However, Skattebo's inclusion takes some early-down rushing work off Tracy's back, allowing him to be the backfield receiving option. Tracy started his career at Purdue as a wideout before converting to running back ahead of his fourth year.
Skattebo's mere presence ignited the Giants' fan base, but he lived up to the hype in the team's 2025 offseason minicamp. The team liked what they saw from him even without pads, which is his true bread and butter. In just two months, Skattebo has already shown New York more than Gray has in two years.
The Giants have tried to keep Gray on their roster as a returner, but gave up on that experiment in 2024. By re-signing Ihmir Smith-Marsette in free agency, his days as New York's kick returner are likely over. Barring an unfortunate injury, there are not many reasons to keep Gray around.
East Rutherford, NJ -- August 24, 2024 -- Evan Neal of the Giants before the game. The New York Giants and New York Jets meet at MetLife Stadium in the final preseason game of the 2024 season for both teams.
Chris Pedota / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Giants have drafted a lot of busts in the last decade, but Evan Neal likely takes the cake. DeAndre Baker and Kadarius Toney were unique head cases, but no player joined the team with more hype and failed to deliver than Neal.
After three seasons as arguably the worst tackle in the league, the Giants desperately switched Neal to guard in the 2025 offseason. Not much has happened since, but every move Schoen has made in the past couple of months indicates the team's intention to move on. New York already had Jon Runyan and Aaron Stinnie returning before re-signing Greg Van Roten and drafting Marcus Mbow.
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Given the absence of pads, the offensive line is the most challenging position to gauge in minicamp. There is no way to effectively block without pads, but that might be the only factor currently saving Neal. To this point, every chance he has had to redeem himself has only done the opposite.
To his credit, Neal posted a 61.2 player grade on Pro Football Focus in 2024, near the average of the 140 tackles scored. That is just not remotely enough to make up for his disastrous 39.8 grade in 2023 and 44.1 in 2024. He ranked among the bottom 10 in both years while creating some of the worst lowlights for an offensive lineman of all time.
Coming into the league, Neal was a player who supposedly had the footwork and athleticism to compete with the league's premier edge-rushers. Strength was never his strong suit, which is what he needs to transition to guard. His footwork and power simply failed to translate. Moving inside masks the footwork issues, but the remaining holes in his game are impossible to hide.
In his best-case scenario, Neal does just enough to sneak onto the Giants' final roster. But in a more likely scenario, New York's drafting of Mbow demoted him from one of the team's top cut candidates to the outside looking in.
DE Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (93) celebrates following a sack against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
The Giants invested in no position more than defensive line in the 2025 offseason, adding Abdul Carter, Darius Alexander, Chauncey Golston, Roy Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter. The additions undeniably give them one of the best front-sevens in the league, but simultaneously place some of their returning defenders on the roster bubble.
The offseason moves created the biggest logjam at outside linebacker, where the Giants now have Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Carter competing for two starting roles. To compensate, Brian Daboll claimed the team will rotate Carter and Thibodeaux on the inside, while also playing the rookie off the ball.
Burns, Carter and Thibodeaux are all versatile enough to play on the inside, causing further chaos on the interior. With snaps likely to be spread out, Rakeem Nunez-Roches seems like the player who will lose the most. The career journeyman played 57 percent of the defensive snaps in 2024, posting 52 tackles and two sacks.
Nunez-Roches' 52 tackles were a career high, but his volume and output came out of necessity more than personal growth. The Giants' defensive line was depleted by injuries all season, making him one of the few to play the majority of the season. That could certainly happen again, but the added depth on the team makes it much less likely.
When fully healthy, the Giants will want Burns, Carter, Thibodeaux, Alexander and Golston all on the field much more than Nunez-Roches. This is a potentially elite pass-rushing team, lowering the value of the durability and depth Nunez-Roches provided in 2024. With younger players like Elijah Chatman, D.J. Davidson and Jordan Riley providing depth, there is a good chance Schoen sees no value in retaining Nunez-Roches.