Ryan Miller’s stay on the waiver wire was short-lived.
A day after the New York Giants moved on from the 26-year-old wide receiver and special teams contributor, the Miami Dolphins stepped in Tuesday to claim him. To make room, Miami waived former 2025 seventh-round pick Tahj Washington.
The timing made the move even more notable. Miller’s last weekend in New York ended right after the Giants hammered the Dolphins 26-3 in Saturday’s preseason game, giving Miami a fresh look at him before deciding to bring him aboard.
For Miller, the claim gives him an immediate path forward with roster cuts looming. The former Furman standout first landed with the Giants last December after being claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay, and while he never appeared in a regular-season game for New York, he did sign a one-year deal earlier this offseason.
But once he went quiet in the second preseason game, the Giants’ decision became easy to read.
Miller was fighting a numbers battle from the start, and it was one he was never really built to win. Training camp opened with a steep climb for the 6-foot-2, 221-pound receiver, and Dan Duggan of The Athletic noted early that Miller’s best - maybe only - route to the 53-man roster was to stand out on special teams. That big moment never came.
The problem was the depth chart around him. There were already several special teams contributors listed as receivers, which made Miller’s lane even tighter.
At first, he seemed like a player who could carve out a role through the third phase. Instead, that possibility disappeared as the offseason went on.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen went heavy on the receiver room, adding Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin III, Odell Beckham Jr., Braxton Berrios, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, while also trading up for third-round rookie Malachi Fields. With all of those bodies arriving, Miller slid quickly to the bottom.
His preseason production didn’t help. He caught one pass for 14 yards in the opener against the Minnesota Vikings, then finished with no stats at all on 38 snaps against Miami.
The Giants have already moved on from JuJu Smith-Schuster, and with 11 camp bodies fighting for six or seven spots and the deadline for roster cuts approaching, more trimming is still coming. With Malik Nabers nearing a Week 1 return, head coach John Harbaugh’s picture for the final receiver group is getting clearer.
Miller was just one of the first players squeezed out, but he likely won’t be the last.
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