Giants roster moves: Trio of players claimed off waivers

The New York Giants had a busy Wednesday, swapping out three roster spots as they continue shuffle players.

The Giants, of course, placed Collin Johnson on injured reserve with a torn Achilles tendon suffered during Wednesday afternoon’s practice. The Giants also placed wide receiver Marcus Kemp on IR with a hamstring injury and terminated the contract of tight end Jordan Akins.

In their place, the Giants were awarded three players via waivers. Cornerback Harrison Hand and wide receivers Jaylon Moore and Bailey Gaither are your new Giants.

Hand, waived by the Minnesota Vikings, is a player Big Blue View’s Nick Falato suggested the Giants go after in an article that posted on Wednesday morning.

Falato wrote that Hand “has inside-outside versatility with insane 96th and 94th percentile broad and vertical jump scores.”

The 5’11, 185-pound Hand was a fifth-round pick by Minnesota in 2020. He played in 23 games for the Vikings over two seasons.

Moore and Gaither were both released this week by the Baltimore Ravens.

Moore, 5’11 and 191 pounds, entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Ravens in 2020 and spent most of the last two seasons on Baltimore’s practice squad. In four seasons at Tennessee-Martin, he caught 92 passes for 1,492 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Gaither, 6’0 and 188 pounds, was signed as a rookie free agent by the Green Bay Packers in 2021. Early in the 2021 training camp, he announced his retirement. The Ravens signed him on July 27, 2022. Gaither played five seasons as at San Jose State, where he had 135 receptions for 2,227 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Akins was signed this offseason after catching 114 passes over four seasons with the Houston Texans. Akins, though, never really made an impact during training camp.

Kemp joined the Giants last month. He has played 44 NFL games in a five-year career, 43 of them with the Kansas City Chiefs. Kemp has four NFL receptions.

There could be more moves coming.

There was a report earlier in the day that Tanner Hudson, a tight end, was taking a physical for the Giants. So, perhaps a move there is imminent.