The Giants’ latest practice-squad addition comes with a familiar face already attached. New York is signing wide receiver Dontae Fleming after bringing him in for a visit Tuesday, according to Giants insider Art Stapleton, and the move fits right into a busy offseason and early 2026 stretch in which the team has kept circling back to people with ties to John Harbaugh, his staff, or current players.
What makes Fleming stand out is the web around him. He already knows Dalen Cambre and new backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy, which gives this signing a little more texture than the usual depth add.
Fleming, 24, is still waiting for his first NFL game appearance, but his final college season at Tulane was his best. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound receiver caught 31 passes for 598 yards and one touchdown.
The McCarthy connection goes back to Minnesota. After going undrafted in 2025, Fleming signed with the Vikings and spent his rookie year on their practice squad before returning on a futures deal this offseason.
That put him around McCarthy before Minnesota eventually dealt the quarterback to New York for a 2027 fifth-round pick. There’s even video of the two working together at Vikings training camp earlier this summer.
None of that guarantees Fleming anything in New York, of course. It doesn’t lock him into a roster spot, and it certainly doesn’t mean he’s suddenly ready to become a real offensive answer. But the Giants are light at receiver, so the addition makes sense as a body and a developmental piece for their 18-man practice-squad setup.
Right now, Malik Nabers, Darnell Mooney, and Malachi Fields are the only receivers on the active depth chart. Charlie Jones could also be in line for more work after Braxton Berrios’ season-ending foot injury. Fleming brings speed to the table, too, having run a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at his pro day and flashed some big-play ability in his final year at Tulane.
And because the Giants and Vikings apparently can’t stop swapping names, Minnesota jumped in on Wednesday as well. One day after New York added a former Vikings receiver, the Vikings reportedly signed recently released Giants' 2026 nostalgia story Odell Beckham Jr. to their practice squad.
At this point, it’s as close to a practice-squad trade as the league gets.
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