Giants Fan Favorite Headlines Long List of Post-Preseason Roster Cuts
The New York Giants announced the full list of initial roster cuts later in the afternoon on August 22, after the first few leaked out earlier that morning, and these decisions were likely made mere hours after the preseason finale against the New England Patriots.
“The New York Giants released the following eight players ahead of Tuesday’s 53-man roster deadline,” team reporter Dan Salomone relayed via Giants.com. They were:
- WR Jordan Bly
- ILB K.J. Cloyd
- CB O’Donnell Fortune
- ILB Dyontae Johnson
- C Jimmy Morrissey
- WR Zach Pascal
- WR Montrell Washington
- OL Jaison Williams
Of course, Washington was the first cut reported on social media on Friday morning. Followed by Williams and Bly.
But not far behind them was former fan favorite linebacker Dyontae Johnson, who failed to turn heads this summer as he had in the past.
“The Giants cut LB Dyontae Johnson, per source,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported just before the NYG announcement.
“He had a real chance to make the roster last season, but a preseason injury set him back,” Raanan noted. “Healthy this summer, but never gained traction with the Giants signing multiple veteran LBs this offseason.”
Johnson was originally an undrafted prospect out of Toledo. He racked up 15 total tackles and a QB hit over his first 3 preseason outings in 2023, followed by 4 total tackles and another QB hit in 1 preseason start in 2024 (before his injury).
The soon-to-be 25-year-old linebacker also logged 11 total tackles over 2 regular-season appearances last year after he returned from injury, and he finished with another 12 total preseason tackles this summer.
The Johnson and Cloyd cuts are a good sign for veteran linebackers and core special teamers Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Chris Board, as well as recent draft pick Darius Muasau.
Veteran WR Zach Pascal’s Late Push Isn’t Enough to Make the Roster
Against the Patriots, Pascal made a couple of catches late in the game for a total of 21 yards, but perhaps it was more notable that the veteran was even on the field in the second half.
Signing with the Giants as a potential core special teamer and depth wide receiver in free agency, Pascal failed to impress most of the spring and summer, while younger players like Beaux Collins and Dalen Cambre stood out often.
Pascal had a couple of 600-plus-yard campaigns earlier in his career, but he’s fading as a 53-man contributor overall. Despite the late push on Thursday night, Pascal only finished the 2025 preseason with 5 catches for 57 yards.
No Surprise Roster Cuts for Giants So Far
Looking at the other names on the initial list of Giants roster cuts, there are no real surprises so far.
Johnson, Washington and Pascal were probably the biggest three names, but none of them were projected to make the cut according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, who predicted the 53-man roster after the final preseason game on August 21.
And reserves and rookies like Morrissey, Cloyd, Bly, Fortune and Williams were likely never making the Week 1 roster.
On Johnson and the backup interior linebacker battle, Duggan wrote the following:
“Board and Flannigan-Fowles are proven special teamers who were signed to bolster that phase. Board is entrenched as a core special teamer, while Flannigan-Fowles’ outlook is cloudier after missing a significant amount of camp, including all three preseason games, with an undisclosed injury.
“Johnson didn’t build on the promise he showed last year and was stuck on the third-team defense all offseason. Flannigan-Fowles makes it for now, but this is a spot that could be vulnerable to a waiver claim.”
We’ll see if Flannigan-Fowles survives Tuesday’s roster cutdown, as well as the waiver claim period after that.
