The Giants tried to work the back end of their roster the way plenty of teams do every cut-down season: move a few players off the 53-man roster, then try to bring them back on the practice squad. This time, general manager Joe Schoen came up empty on both swings.
Schoen said Wednesday that New York had hoped to get linebackers Darius Muasau and Caleb Murphy back after cutting them Sunday. Instead, neither player returned to East Rutherford.
Muasau was the first one the Giants lost. The 2024 sixth-round pick had been a steady part of the defense over his first two seasons, appearing in 27 games with 18 starts and finishing with 106 tackles. Even with that track record, the Giants left him off the initial 53-man roster after reshaping the linebacker room and put him on waivers.
That decision didn’t pay off. The Patriots claimed Muasau on Monday, taking him off the board before the Giants could circle back with a practice squad offer.
Murphy’s path was different, but the result was the same for New York. He cleared waivers, which meant he was free to sign with anyone, including the Giants.
Schoen apparently hoped that would bring him back to the practice squad. Instead, Murphy chose the Los Angeles Chargers, where he reunited with Jim Harbaugh.
Murphy had already spent time with the Chargers, and his route to playing time in New York looked crowded from the start. Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux were set to handle most of the pass-rushing snaps, leaving Murphy with a tough climb.
It left Schoen with a 0-for-2 outcome after trying to stash both linebackers for the practice squad. Sometimes another team claims the player before you can get him back.
Sometimes the player clears waivers and still decides to go elsewhere. This time, the Giants ran into both versions of that problem at once.
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