NFL Roster Cuts 2011: Giants, Jets Get Five-Player Exceptions

Due to the extraordinary circumstance of having to play two preseason games within 72 hours due to Hurricane Irene, the New York Giants and New York Jets have been granted a five-player exception to the 80-man roster limit teams were to reach today by 4 p.m. ET. The NFL announced today that both the Giants and Jets would be allowed to carry 85 players for their preseason games on Thursday.

The Giants play the New England Patriots and the Jets host the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams will have to trim their rosters to 80 players by Friday at 4 p.m.

The Giants made four moves Tuesday afternoon to reach the 85-man limit. They placed defensive tackle Marvin Austin, their second-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. waived/injured wide receiver Duke Calhoun and placed wide receiver Ramses Barden (ankle) and center Adam Koets (knee) on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.

According to NFL rules, the earliest they can come back is the day after the sixth regular season weekend (the Tuesday after Week 6, since the Monday night games are technically part of the weekend). The Giants host Buffalo on Oct. 16 in Week 6.

When a player is removed from the PUP list, they are allowed up to 21 days of practice before a decision has to be made whether to activate, terminate, or keep them on the reserve/PUP list.

Calhoun, a second-year pro, played in nine games for the Giants in 2010 and had seven special teams tackles. He has had an injured hamstring and did not play last Monday against the Jets.

NFL Roster Cuts 2011: Nick Folk Wins Jets Kicking Job as Nick Novak Among Cuts

An interesting position battle brewed on the New York Jets this preseason with Nick Novak giving incumbent placekicker Nick Folk a run for his money. But Folk, who helped get the Jets to the AFC Championship last season, won the job as Novak was among the roster cuts announced today by Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Folk isn’t the most consistent kicker in the world, and has struggled with kickoffs during his short Jet tenure, but he appears to be the guy once again.

Also released was punter Chris Bryan, meaning the starting job goes to T.J. Conley, who battled Steve Weatherford in last season’s training camp. Wide receiver Courtney Smith was also cut.

NFL Roster Cuts: Fullback Jerome Felton A Fit For Giants?

Reports are out that the Detroit Lions rreleased fourth-year fullback Jerome Felton today.

Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network says Felton is a “Quality FB, but team doing in direction of keeping more TEs.”

Which makes me wonder if Felton would fit with the New York Giants. The Giants have only undrafted free agent Henry Hynoski as a true fullback. Bear Pascoe, who played some fullback last season, is better suited to play tight end.

Hynoski has shown flashes and played most of Monday night’s loss to the New York Jets with the first unit. Still, the run game is important to the Giants and the availability of an experienced fullback who can both block and catch could be tempting.

A 2008 fifth-round pick out of Furman, the 6-foot, 247-pound Felton has started 16 of his 42 games with the Lions, carrying the ball 39 times for 126 yards and adding 30 receptions for 240 yards.

NFL Roster Cuts 2011: Several Former Giants Cut Loose

Several former New York Giants have been waived by NFL teams as the Tuesday deadline for getting down to 80 players nears. Teams must trim rosters from 90 to 80 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Among the players cut:

-- Quarterback Rhett Bomar was released by the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings, of course, traded for veteran Donovan McNabb and used a first-round pick on Christian Ponder.

-- The Jacksonville Jaguars cut linebacker Gerris Wilkinson, who had recently signed with the team.

-- The Detroit Lions said goodbye to former Giants safety Michael Johnson, who spent last season on injured reserve with the Giants.

-- Kevin Dockery, a reserver cornerback with the Giants from 2006-2009, was released on Sunday by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2011/8/29/2391308/nfl-roster-cuts-2011-several-former-giants-cut-loose

NFL Roster Cuts 2011: Vernon Gholston Released By Chicago Bears

-- SB Nation New York will track roster cuts around the NFL the next few days, focusing on players who are of interest to fans of both the New York Giants and New York Jets.