NFL Roster Cuts: Prediciting the Final 53-Man Roster for the New York Giants

The NFL deadline to make roster cuts and get down to 53 men is on Saturday, and the Giants will have some tough choices to make along the way. 

I know I'm going to get some of these wrong because there is no way to tell how the front office feels about some of the young guys.

Tonight's game against the Patriots showed who really wanted to make this team, which will make my job of writing this article a bit easier.

So it will go from ridiculously hard to kind of hard.

Let's get to it, here are my predictions for the final 53-man roster. (I will give explanations when I feel it is necessary; some of the players are just plain obvious.)

Quarterbacks (2)

Eli Manning, David Carr

I know I was on Sage Rosenfels earlier in the offseason, but the fact that he missed three games due to strep throat and the fact that David Carr has looked good aside from two mistakes tonight makes me feel like Carr has won the job.

But to be clear, and those of you know who I'm speaking to, this has absolutely nothing to do with their salaries. The Giants are now $5 million under the cap with cuts left to make, and Tom Coughlin has repeated many times the best man will get the job.

I conceded that Carr could win the job, but he's not getting it because he's making the veteran minimum.

Runningbacks (5)

Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs, Da'Rel Scott, Andre Brown

The top two are obvious, but after that it starts to get tricky. Da'Rel Scott has been by far the best running back of the three backups in contention (Scott, Brown, DJ Ware), rushing for 213 yards on 14 carries. For those counting, that's 15 yards per carry.

Andre Brown and DJ Ware have been unimpressive during the games, but Brown showed some heart today with his 21 carries for 68 yards, and has looked much better than Ware throughout camp.

Fullback - Henry Hynoski

Not much to say here—he's the only one listed and Bear Pascoe has been awful.

Tight Ends (2)

*INSERT FREE AGENT NAME HERE* Travis Beckum,

I don't know who it is, or where he will come from, but the Giants are going to address the god-awful tight end situation with somebody. If I had to guess, it would be Alge Crumpler because he can block.

Wide Receivers (6)

Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon, Devin Thomas, Jerrel Jernigan

I've toyed with the notion that Jernigan might get cut because of how awful he's been, but he had a decent game tonight, and Coughlin mentioned in the locker room that Jernigan will be the opening-day punt returner, so I guess he'll be around—for now.

Cruz and Domenik Hixon will alternate as the third wide receiver in the slot, and all four backups behind Manningham and Nicks will have special teams roles.

Offensive Line (10)

LT - Will Beatty
LG - David Diehl
C - David Baas
RG - Chris Snee
RT - Kareem McKenzie

Backups - Mitch Petrus (G), Chris White (G,C), Jamon Meredith (G,T), James Brewer (T), Kevin Boothe (G,C)

If you've been watching any of the games, this list shouldn't surprise you. The Giants believe they have a solid future right side of the line with Petrus and Brewer, Boothe is a solid backup that can play anywhere and White is a short-term solution with backup center Adam Koets on the PUP.

Defensive Line (8)

DE - Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Dave Tollefson 

DT - Chris Canty, Linval Joseph, Rocky Bernard, Jimmy Kennedy

I have no clue who the Giants are thinking between Kennedy and Gabe Watson, but other than those two, the defensive line is pretty much set.  

If you're wondering why I don't have a fifth defensive end to fit in the rotation while Osi sits out, I imagine they'll use Mathias Kiwanuka in passing downs.

Linebackers (8)

MLB - Jonathan Goff, Greg Jones, Phillip Dillard

OLB - Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka, Spencer Paysinger, Mark Herzlich, Jacquian Williams

The Giants were dealt a huge blow tonight when they lost yet another valuable backup and special teams contributor in Clint Sintim, but it leaves the door open for the young guys to step up.

Paysinger and Herzlich have been amazing, undrafted free-agent additions who have played very well in the preseason. They are terrific stories and show a lot of heart—coaches respond to that.

Cornerbacks (5)

Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Prince Amukamara, Michael Coe, Brian Williams

I bet the back end of that list doesn't look very familiar. Well, it shouldn't. The Giants lost three cornerbacks to season-ending injuries and lost Prince Amukamara for a few weeks as well.

I get the feeling they won't want to enter the season with three healthy corners, so they'll bring Coe and Williams along until Prince is healthy.

Safeties (4)

Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips, Deon Grant, Tyler Sash

The only way the Giants keep just four corners is if they're confident in Rolle's ability to play nickel corner, which he has said he will do given all the injuries.

Bringing back Deon Grant was huge and will allow Fewell to use the three-safety look he used so often, allowing Mathias Kiwanuka to drop down and put his hand in the dirt in passing situations.

Don't be surprised to see Sash get some playing time as well; he has really made an impression so far.

Special Teams (3)

P - Steve Weatherford

K - Rhys Lloyd

LS - Zak DeOssie

I'm not sure if Lawrence Tynes is going to be back by Week 1, but I don't think the Giants have to worry about Tynes getting snatched up by anyone if they cut him while he recovers.

Matt Dodge will likely get signed by someone; he has a monster leg and a ton of potential, but he can't directional kick to save his life, so Weatherford will have the job.