E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

GIANTS REACH 53-MAN ROSTER;
RELEASE LAULETTA, T.J. JONES. WHITE JR., CARLOCK, CONRAD

By Dave Klein
It probably won't stay this way for much longer than 24 hours, but the Giants released their "official" 53-man roster for the 2019 season on schedule, 4 p.m. Saturday.

Perhaps most surprising was the release of quarterback Kyle Lauletta, who threw the dramatic last-second 15-yard touchdown pass last Thursday night in New England to forge the 31-29 victory over the Patriots.

Instead, general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur chose to keep four-year journeyman Alex Tanney as the third quarterback, although he'll almost surely wind up on the practice squad.

"We are in the second year of building the kind of team we want," Shurmur said. "The process never stops. The communication between Dave and I and our coaches and Dave's staff the process never stops. The group of 90 players that was with us through the spring and summer bought into what we are building here and created the kind of competition that makes for tough decisions."

While Lauletta, a fourth-round draft pick in 2018, was the most notable casualty, the overall shredding of almost half the roster left questions at several positions.

Shurmur noted that as well as the effort. "For the players who were released today, we thank them for their effort and commitment, and we told them to stay ready because you never know when your next opportunity will come, either here or somewhere else."

It should be noted that eight of the team's 10 draft choices made the roster (defensive tackle Chris Slayton and offensive tackle George Asafo-Adjei, both seventh-round picks, are not on the current roster, although A-A was placed on Injured Reserve with a concussion).

Those who did make it include quarterback Daniel Jones, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, cornerback DeAndre Baker (all first-rounders), as well as safety Julian Love, cornerback Corey Ballentine, linebackers Oshane Ximines and Ryan Connelly and wide receiver Darius Slayton. Waived/injured were linebacker Keion Adams (knee), defensive back Kenny Ladler (hamstring), tackle Victor Salako (shoulder), defensive back Henre' Toliver (ankle), wide receiver Alex Wesley (foot/ankle), tackle Chad Wheeler (back) and defensive back Ronald Zamort (ankle).

Defensive back Kamrin Moore, who did not count against the 89, was waived off the commissioner's exempt list. Those placed on injured reserve, in addition to Asafo-Adjei, were linebacker Jonathan Anderson (knee), wide receiver Brittan Golden (calf), tight end Scott Simonson (ankle) and running back Rod Smith (adductor).

Significantly, a few other players who did not make the final cut include offensive tackle Chad Wheeler (who started 14 games last season), and linebacker Avery Moss, a fifth-round selection in 2017.

The current makeup of the 2019 Giants, by position is as follows:

OFFENSE QB - Eli Manning, Daniel Jones, Alex Tanney RB - Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman, Paul Perkins, Eli Penny WR - Sterling Shepard, Bennie Fowler, Russell Shepard, Cody Latimer, Darius Slayton, Alonzo Russell. TE - Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison, Garrett Dickerson C/G - Jon Halapio, Will Hernandez, Kevin Zeitler, Spencer Pulley OT - Nate Solder, Mike Remmers, Nick Gates, Chad Slade, Brian Mihalik.

DEFENSE DL - Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill, Dexter Lawrence, Olsen Pierre, R.J. McIntosh OLB - Kareem Martin, Lorenzo Carter, Markus Golden, Oshane Ximines ILB - Alec Ogletree, Tae Davis, Ryan Connelly, B.J. Goodson, Nate Stupar DB - Janoris Jenkins, DeAndre Baker, Jabrill Peppers, Antoine Bethea, Grant Haley, Antonio Hamilton, Michael Thomas, Julian Love, Corey Ballentine, Sean Chandler, Sam Beal.

SPECIAL TEAMS K - Aldrick Rosas; P - Riley Dixon; LS - Zak DeOssie.

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- Team Giants

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