Giants roster moves: OL Chris Owens and Josh Rivas signed [Updated]

Decimated by injuries, the New York Giants held a 7 a.m. offensive line workout on Friday morning and will add two players from that group to their 85-man roster.

The Giants told reporters this morning that they will bring back rookie guard Josh Rivas, an undrafted free agent who was cut Sunday as part of the team’s moves to trim their roster from 90 to 85 players.

[Update] The Giants have also announced the signing of OL Chris Owens. Owens, 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a UDFA out of Alabama following the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s a versatile lineman with 20 starts under his belt for Alabama, with 12 at right tackle and one at center.

(Note: His start against LSU at right tackle only lasted seven snaps before he moved inside to center for the remainder of the game following an injury to the starting center. He effectively had two starts at center in 2021)

Owens was Alabama’s primary back-up center, as well as a reserve tackle, in 2019 and 2020. He had three starts at center over that period.

Center/guard Ben Bredeson was the latest offensive line casualty. He was functioning as the first-team center during 11-on-11 work Thursday when he left with a right arm injury. Bredeson was taken inside with a large wrap on his right elbow. No word yet on the severity of that injury, but it is obvious the Giants are going to need healthy bodies to at least get through the preseason.

The Giants have already lost tackle Matt Gono (neck) and rookie guard Marcus McKethan (torn ACL) for the season. Bredeson, Jon Feliciano, Shane Lemieux, Jamil Douglas and Joshua Ezeudu are all currently on the shelf.

The Giants placed wide receiver Robert Foster on IR with a hamstring injury and waived and DT Christopher Hinton in corresponding roster moves. The Giants had intended to waive wide receiver Keelan Doss, but changed that when Foster was injured on Friday.