Giants sign OL Cade Mays to practice squad, cut Marcellus Johnson

The New York Giants have signed guard Cade Mays to the practice squad and terminated the contract of OL Marcellus Johnson.

The New York Giants continued tweaking their roster on Tuesday night, signing offensive lineman Cade Mays to the practice squad after a series of workouts earlier in the week.

The 6-foot-6, 325-pound Mays began his college career at Georgia before transferring to Tennessee. He was named Second-Team All-SEC in 2021.

Mays, 25, was a sixth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 NFL draft. He’s appeared in 27 career games with seven starts, all at guard. He’s taken most of his snaps on the left side but has taken several on the right side over the past two seasons.

In 2023, Mays earned an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 58.3 (71.2 run block, 43.0 pass protection).

In order to clear room for Mays on the practice squad, the Giants terminated the contract of offensive lineman Marcellus Johnson.

Alongside Mays, the Giants worked out offensive lineman Garret Greenfield, quarterback Gavin Hardison, punter George Triplett, and wide receivers Cornelius Johnson, Tay Martin, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Smith-Marsette was also signed in a separate transaction.

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Giants officially sign 8 undrafted rookies, waive Deon Jackson

The New York Giants have signed eight undrafted rookie free agents and waived/injured running back Deon Jackson.

The New York Giants open rookie minicamp with the first of two practices on Friday, which also means some roster tinkering is a must.

The team officially announced the signing of eight undrafted rookie free agents along with several other transactions.

Seven of the eight undrafted free agents signed to the 90-man roster are as follows:

  • WR Ayir Asante (Wyoming)
  • WR John Jiles (West Florida)
  • DB Alex Johnson (UCLA)
  • OT Marcellus Johnson (Missouri)
  • G Jake Kubas (North Dakota State)
  • DE Ovie Oghoufo (LSU)
  • DL Casey Rogers (Oregon)

The Giants also announced the signing of international kicker Jude McAtamney (Rutgers), who was given a roster exemption.

Other roster moves include the signing of fifth-round running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., who had agreed to terms on his rookie deal on Thursday.

Finally, running back Deon Jackson was waived/injured. He will revert to injured reserve (IR) in 24 hours.

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Experienced OL from Eastern Michigan earns offer from Auburn

Hugh Freeze and staff are continuing to work towards building the best OL in the SEC by offering talented options from the transfer portal.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and staff are continuing to address its need for experienced offensive linemen by extending an offer to a three-year starter.

[autotag]Marcellus Johnson[/autotag], who has spent the last three seasons as Eastern Michigan’s starting left tackle, received an offer from Auburn over the weekend.

Signing day was kind to Auburn in the form of offensive linemen, as the Tigers were able to secure [autotag]Bradyn Joiner[/autotag], [autotag]Clay Wedin[/autotag], [autotag]Connor Lew[/autotag], [autotag]Tyler Johnson[/autotag], and [autotag]Izavion Miller[/autotag] during the early signing period as well as [autotag]Dillon Wade[/autotag] from the transfer portal. However, improving the offensive line is a dire need, and Freeze wishes to lay the foundation for his younger linemen by adding experience, which can be found in Johnson.

Johnson was the fourth-highest-graded blocker for Eastern Michigan last season with a grade of 71.6 according to Pro Football Focus, with his strong suit being pass blocking, which goes together with Freeze’s offensive philosophy.

Johnson tells Jeremy Werner of Illini Inquirer, a division of 247Sports, that he will take visits to programs that he is interested in between the dates of Jan. 4 and Jan. 8, although he has not stated publically his intent to visit Auburn during those dates.

“I plan on taking all of my visits from the 4th through the 8th, and I will make my decision while I am either on a visit or soon after,” Johnson said. “I will try to hit East Coast to West Coast first. But the biggest deciding factor for me is the O-line coach. I want to make sure I have a great connection with him.”

Since entering the portal, Johnson has received 18 offers, which include Colorado, Wisconsin, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Troy in addition to Auburn.

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