New York Giants waive 8 players, trim roster down to 80

The New York Giants waived eight players this weekend in order to arrive at the NFL’s new roster limit of 80.

On Sunday, the New York Giants waived eight players en route to trimming their roster down to the NFL’s new limit of 80.

Of the eight players that were waived, four of them had regular-season playing experience — running back Jon Hilliman, linebacker Chris Peace, safety Rashaan Gaulden, and newly acquired cornerback Shakial Taylor. The Giants claimed the latter-most individual off waivers on Tuesday.

The other four players were quarterback Case Cookus of Northern Arizona, fullback George Aston of Pittsburgh, edge rusher Dana Levine of Temple, and edge rusher Oluwole Betiku of Illinois.

In actuality, the Giants roster currently consists of 81 players, but running back Sandro Platzgummer of Austria doesn’t count against the roster considering he’s an international pathway exemption.

Of the players that were waived, the most noticeable was Hilliman, who was expected to compete with Wayne Gallman and Dion Lewis to be Saquon Barkley’s main backup. He finished last season with 30 carries for 91 yards.

The Giants initially planned to go with a 90-man roster to begin training camp, but ultimately came to the conclusion that an 80-man roster would be more necessary amid this weird and unusual period prior to the regular season.

In other news, wide receiver Da’Mari Scott informed the team that he intends to opt-out of the 2020 campaign. Scott is the second player to opt-out after left tackle Nate Solder did so last week due to his son’s cancer battle. Scott recorded two receptions for 22 yards last season.