Tag: Justin Hilliard

Chiefs sign LB Justin Hilliard to practice squad

The #Chiefs have filled their 16-man practice squad by adding former #49ers and #Giants LB Justin Hilliard.

The Kansas City Chiefs have officially filled their vacant spot on the practice squad.

The team had an open spot heading into Week 17 following the release of RB/WR Jerrion Ealy from the practice squad. The team brought in five players for tryouts on Tuesday, but it was pretty clear that they were looking to add a linebacker. They had Elijah Lee signed away by the Bears just last week and were short on numbers there in terms of the practice squad.

As a result of the tryouts, the team signed LB Justin Hilliard to the practice squad. A former five-star recruit out of high school, Hilliard appeared in 47 games over five seasons with the Buckeyes. He went undrafted in the 2021 NFL draft and his career in the NFL to this point hasn’t amounted to much.

He was signed by the 49ers following the 2021 NFL draft, but he was waived during 53-man roster cuts. He was claimed by the New York Giants, but he appeared in just two games in 2021 before he was placed on injured reserve. Hilliard was suspended for the first two games of the 2022 regular season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances and was waived by New York during the offseason.

Hilliard, listed at 6-1 and 230 pounds, figures in as weakside linebacker depth for Kansas City. He could play a role on special teams as well.

Hilliard will wear jersey No. 42 with the Chiefs.

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Chiefs host five players for tryouts on Tuesday

The #Chiefs hosted five defenders on tryouts on Tuesday, including former #Packers DT Mike Daniels.

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted several defensive players for tryouts on Tuesday. This comes following the decision to release RB/WR Jerrion Ealy from the practice squad.

Four of the players the team hosted are linebackers, which makes plenty of sense given the loss of veteran LB Elijah Lee, who was poached from the practice squad by the Chicago Bears last week. The other player that the team hosted is a veteran defensive tackle who got his NFL career started in Green Bay.

Below is a quick look at each of the players that the team had in for tryouts on Tuesday:

Colts worked out four LBs

Colts worked out four LBs, including a former third-round pick.

The Indianapolis Colts held a tryout for four linebackers, per the league’s transaction wire Saturday.

The four linebackers included Aaron Hansford, Justin Hilliard, Dorian O’Daniel and Kadofi Wright.

The Colts showed interest in Hansford before the 2022 NFL draft. Hilliard spent some time with the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants and is suspended for the first two games of the season after violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy.

O’Daniel was a third-round pick with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2018 NFL draft. He has appeared in 58 games (one start) while spending the majority of his time on special teams.

Wright was an undrafted free agent out of Buffalo who signed with the Denver Broncos.

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Giants training camp: 10 takeaways from Day 2

Day 2 of New York Giants training camp practice has come and gone, so here are 10 quick takeaways.

After a successful first day of training camp practice on Wednesday, the New York Giants were back at it again on Thursday. This time, they focused on areas outside of the red zone (although red zone drills were again included).

Head coach Brian Daboll met with reporters before practice started and then it was off to the races.

Here’s a look at 10 quick takeaways from Day 2 of training camp practice.

Giants sign LB Austin Calitro, waive LB Justin Hilliard

The New York Giants continued roster shuffling with the addition of linebacker Austin Calitro and the release of linebacker Justin Hilliard.

The New York Giants released linebacker Justin Hilliard on Thursday.

They will fill the open roster spot with linebacker Austin Calitro, a well-traveled player who has appeared in 47 regular season games with nine starts for Seattle, Jacksonville, Denver and Cincinnati.

The Giants are Calitro’s 11th NFL stop since being signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Villanova in 2017.

The Giants claimed Hilliard off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers last year. He played two games, predominantly on special teams before landing on season-ending injured reserve in mid-October.

Hillard, a former Ohio State Buckeye, was suspended in June for the first two games of the upcoming season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy.

As stated by Mike Garafolo above, Hilliard is more of a 4-3 linebacker who is not a logistical fit for new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s 3-4 scheme.

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Giants LB Justin Hilliard suspended 2 games for PED violation

Justin Hilliard, who will be battling to make the Giants’ roster, has been suspended for the first 2 games of the season

New York Giants linebacker Justin Hilliard has been suspended for the first two games of the 2022 season after violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. Hilliard will not be paid for the two games he misses, but he will be able to participate in all training camp practices and preseason games this summer.

Hilliard was claimed off waivers by the Giants last September, playing two games as a rookie. He was originally signed by the 49ers as an undrafted free agent but was cut at the end of August.

He only played 15 special teams snaps last season and will be a long shot to make the 53-man roster in 2022.

Hilliard explained what happened that led to the suspension, saying he mistakenly took his partner’s prescription medication instead of his own.

18 injured or absent Giants account for over $33 million in salary cap space

A look at 18 injured or absent members of the New York Giants and their respective cap hits totaling more than $33 million in space.

The New York Giants have under $3 million in available salary cap space, according to Spotrac. And part of the reason for that slim margin is due to an overwhelming number of injured or absent players.

Sixteen players currently reside on injured reserve and that does not take into account the number of players that have been waived with injury settlements. Additionally, the Giants have one player (running back Gary Brightwell) on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and one player (center Jonotthan Harrison) on the Practice Squad/Injured list.

Let’s not even talk about the players eating up a ton of dead cap space.

Below is a look at the 18 injured or absent Giants and how much cap space they account for.

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Giants place LB Justin Hilliard on Injured Reserve

Giants LB Justin Hilliard suffered an ankle injury in practice on Thursday.

The New York Giants made a roster move on Friday, placing 2021 UDFA and linebacker Justin Hilliard on Injured Reserve after apparently suffering an ankle injury during practice on Thursday.

Hilliard, who popped up on yesterday’s injury report, had appeared in the last two games for Big Blue, playing all of his snaps on special teams. He did not record a stat in his 15 combined snaps.

As the Giants lose one special teamer, they might be getting back another, as it’s possible fellow linebacker Cam Brown will be activated off IR ahead of Week 6, but that has yet to be confirmed.

Brown appeared in 15 games for the Giants last season. He hasn’t suited up since Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, when he played 11 snaps on special teams.

If activated, he’ll also provide some much-needed depth for the linebacking corps., which is also missing Blake Martinez after he suffered a torn ACL in September.

The Giants will meet the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

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Giants injury report: Daniel Jones and 10 others limited, 3 DNP

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones and 10 other players were limited on Thursday, three more did not participate in practice.

The New York Giants were back on the practice field on Thursday and the good news is that quarterback Daniel Jones took another step forward in his return from a concussion.

Jones participated with a red jersey (non-contact) and appeared to be relatively healthy. Of course, concussions are fickle and the healing process is not linear.

Although practicing with non-contact indicates Jones has entered Phase 4 of his recovery, he will still need to be cleared by a third-party neurologist before getting a green light on Sunday.

The news was not nearly as positive for left tackle Andrew Thomas (foot), who appeared limited at best. Matt Peart took snaps at left tackle, while Nate Solder took the snaps at right tackle.

The Giants’ full Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), WR Kenny Golladay (knee), CB Rodarius Williams (knee)

Limited participant: QB Daniel Jones (concussion), OL Ben Bredeson (hand), S Nate Ebner (quad), LB Justin Hilliard (ankle), S Jabrill Peppers (hamstring), S Logan Ryan (hip), WR Sterling Shepard (hamstring), OL Matt Skura (knee), WR Darius Slayton (hamstring), OL Andrew Thomas (foot), WR Kadarius Toney (ankle)

Full participant: N/A

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Giants’ Saquon Barkley questionable, Evan Engram out vs. Broncos

New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley is questionable but likely to play against the Denver Broncos, while TE Evan Engram is out.

The New York Giants will finally, officially see the return of running back Saquon Barkley (knee) on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

Nearly a year to the day (Sept. 20, 2020) after suffering a torn ACL versus the Chicago Bears, Barkley will step back onto the field in a live, competitive environment. And a pitch count? That might be off the table, too.

Despite being listed as questionable, expect Saquon to be a full-go after getting through practice without a setback.

Meanwhile, tight end Evan Engram (calf) continued his work on the side, but was still ruled out against the Broncos.

The remainder of the Giants’ injury report, including the status of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and tight end Kyle Rudolph, can be found below:

Out: TE Evan Engram (calf)

Doubtful: N/A

Questionable: RB Saquon Barkley (knee), CB Adoree’ Jackson (ankle)

No designation: WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring), LB Justin Hilliard (foot), DB Josh Jackson (calf), TE Kyle Rudolph (foot), DT Danny Shelton (neck), TE Kaden Smith (knee), OT Andrew Thomas (ankle), WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring).