EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The Giants today reached the 16-player cap on their practice squad by adding six newcomers and removing two players who joined the team yesterday. None of the newcomers have previous relationships with the Giants.
They are running back Taiwan Jones, cornerback Caleb Hayes, wide receiver Dennis Houston, tight end Terry Jackson, guard Jalen Mayfield, and tackle Jaylon Thomas.
Tackle Tyre Phillips and cornerback Gemon Green are terminated from the practice squad.
Jones is the most accomplished of the extras. He played in 137 regular season games and 10 postseason contests for Oakland, Buffalo and Houston. Jones was with the Bills when Joe Schoen was their assistant general manager and Brian Daboll was their offensive coordinator.
The 6-0, 195-pounder’s career totals include 53 rush attempts for 223 yards, 19 receptions for 260 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown, 84 kickoff returns for a 22.7-yard average and 79 special teams tackles. Jones had no rushing attempts for receptions in the previous three seasons with Buffalo. Last year, he had five special teams tackles with the Bills.
Jones entered the league as a fourth-round pick with the Raiders in 2011 out of Eastern Washington.
Hayes, aged 5-11 and 194 pounds, was signed as a rookie free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars on May 11. He was waived on Tuesday. Hayes began his college career at Oregon State before playing his final two seasons at Brigham Young University, where he played in 24 games with 20 starts in 2021-22 and totaled 67 tackles (47 solo) and 19 passes broken up.
Houston, 6-1 and 198 pounds, played in two games for the Dallas Cowboys last season, including the season opener against Tampa Bay, when he caught two passes for 16 yards. He joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. Houston was released on September 22 and spent the rest of the season on the Dallas practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 25 and was waived on Tuesday.
In one season each at Houston Baptist and Fullerton College and three at Western Illinois, Houston had 202 receptions for 2,393 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Jackson, 6-7 and 249 pounds, is a former college quarterback who entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Buffalo in 2019, when Schoen and Dabol were with the Bills. He was released at the end of training camp and did not return to the league until he was signed on January 6, 2021, by the Philadelphia Eagles, who converted him to a tight end.
That season, Jackson played in his first nine NFL games with three starts and caught three passes for 22 yards, including one touchdown—all against Dallas in the season finale on January 8, 2022. He also played in five games for the year. past but he didn’t do that. You don’t have to catch. Jackson did not have a reception in three games against the Giants. He was waived on Tuesday.
Jackson played quarterback for three seasons at the University at Buffalo, completing 533 of 955 passes (55.8%) for 6,999 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions.
Mayfield, who is 6-5 and 320 pounds, started the first 16 games of the 2021 season at left guard for the Atlanta Falcons, which selected him in the third round of that year’s NFL Draft. He missed the entire 2022 season with a lower back injury and was out on Saturday.
Mayfield played 18 games with 15 starts at right tackle at the University of Michigan but was converted to guard by the Falcons after injuries depleted them at that position.
Thomas, 6-3 and 311 pounds, is an undrafted rookie who was with the Baltimore Ravens from May 18 through Tuesday. He played all five offensive line positions at SMU, appearing in 52 games with 48 starts in five seasons. As a sophomore in 2019, he started all 13 games at left tackle.
Phillips played 12 games for the 2022 Giants, starting four games at right tackle when Evan Neal was sidelined with a knee injury and season-ending at left tackle. Gemon was a rookie free agent. Both players were released on Tuesday.
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