Breaking news: Giants signs Former Raiders veteran standout player in a blockbuster deal.
The more York Giants added two more players after the original 53-man roster cutdown. Anthony Johnson Jr. was the first to be claimed on waivers, and the second was more of an injured replacement.
On August 28, NorthJersey.com beat reporter Art Stapleton reported, “[The] Giants have signed former [Las] Vegas [Raiders] LB Curtis Bolton to the 53 and placed LB Dyontae Johnson on IR.”
Johnson’s climb through training camp this summer was stalled by an ankle injury sustained during the preseason opener, forcing the second-year UDFA to miss the remaining two August games. Nevertheless, he shown enough for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll to retain him on the active roster through the deadline of August 27.
Johnson will at the very least miss the opening four weeks of the regular season after being placed on injured reserve one day later.
Giants Sign Curtis Bolton, a “Enigmatic” Linebacker and Member of the Core Special Team
The good news for Johnson is that he shouldn’t be out for the entire campaign. But Bolton’s assistance on special teams—and possibly defense, if additional injuries happen—will be needed by the Giants until he and fellow linebacker Matthew Adams return from the injured reserve.
When Bolton first joined the league in 2019, NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein called him a “enigmatic linebacker prospect with plus speed and athletic traits.”
Zierlein said at the time that he “plays a persistent brand of ball and showed vast improvement [throughout college].” mentioning Bolton’s “knack as a blitzer” and “fluidity in space.”
Since then, the veteran has primarily served as an NFL special team member.
In 2021, Bolton became a regular season contributor for the first time with the Detroit Lions. He joined the Raiders the next season and expanded his special teams experience by playing in 23 games over a two-year period.
He was recognized by Pro Football Reference with 13 total tackles in Las Vegas on 433 special teams snaps in addition to 16 defensive stops. More than the linebacker room, he’ll probably cover for Adams and Johnson in the ST department.
Giants Verify Security Owens Gervarrius Has Been Removed
After Johnson was claimed, it was first unclear who the corresponding cut was. But safety Gervarrius Owens seemed the most likely choice from the roster at practice.
Ultimately, the visual approach to figuring out the roster cut worked.
Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post followed up, saying, “Confirmed that Gervarrius Owens is the corresponding cut for [the] Anthony Johnson waiver addition.” “So that means Owens has to clear waivers before he could re-sign to the practice squad,” the commenter said.
In 2023, Owens was selected in the seventh round. He never seemed certain to make the 53-man roster in year two, though, in spite of that.
Early in camp, Owens quieted some of the doubters with hints of improvement. He then suffered a knee injury.
Unfortunately, undrafted rookie Alex Johnson was closing in on Owens, pushing him back onto the roster bubble. Nevertheless, he survived the first round of cuts when Alex Johnson was let go, only to be replaced on August 28 by fellow safety Anthony Johnson.
And so, following a brief respite, Owens departs with the other NYG players. Whether he makes it back into the practice squad through waivers is still up in the air.
