All the former New York Giants playing in the playoffs

Former Big Blue players highlight the rosters of nearly every playoff team

Several former New York Giants will play this weekend during Super Wild Card weekend and beyond. We’ve compiled a list of players on each of the 14 playoff teams, and former Giants can be found in every playoff roster except the Philadelphia Eagles (as it should be!).

Several former Giants first-round picks are on the list, like Odell Beckham Jr., Jason Pierre-Paul, Eli Apple and DeAndre Baker. Others were previous big-name free agent signings like Jackrabbit Jenkins and Markus Golden. Still others are mere role players or even practice squad guys.

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Green Bay Packers

CB Isaac Yiadom

Yiadom played for the Giants in 2020, recording 46 tackles and a forced fumble over 16 games. This year he’s played in 16 games for the Packers, recording just 10 tackles.

DT RJ McIntosh

McIntosh is a fourth-year practice squad guy originally drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was cut by the Giants in August, 2021.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

S Andrew Adams

Adams is a veteran depth safety who started his career with the Giants from 2016-2017, recording 80 tackles, a pick and a forced fumble over two seasons. The Giants waived Adams in September, 2018. He went on to win Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers last season. Through 14 games this season he’s made 24 tackles and an interception.

DE Jason Pierre-Paul

Pierre-Paul won a Super Bowl with the 2011 Giants in his rookie year after they took him 15th overall out of USF. He went on to put up 57.5 sacks, 13 forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns over eight seasons in New York. Pierre-Paul is now a two-time Super Bowl champion in his 12th season, and his fourth with the Buccaneers. This year he made 31 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

CB Ross Cockrell

Another veteran on the Bucs defense. Cockrell played 16 games for the Giants in 2017, putting up 50 tackles and three interceptions. He’s bounced around since then but has found a home in Tampa since 2020. In 17 games this year, Cockrell amassed 43 tackles, a forced fumble and 7 passes defended.

Dallas Cowboys

RB Corey Clement

Now in his fifth season, the former Wisconsin Badger Corey Clement played in all 17 games this season, rushing for 133 yards. Originally from New Jersey, Clement never put up a stat for the Giants, as he was signed and was released before this season started.

QB Cooper Rush

The fifth-year Cowboy backup QB Rush was claimed off waivers by the Giants in May 2020 reuniting with former Giants offensive coordinator and former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. The Giants released Rush in September 2020 and a month later he rejoined the Cowboys.

S Darian Thompson

The Giants selected the former Boise State product Thompson in the third round (71st overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Then head coach Ben McAdoo officially named Thompson the starting free safety to start the 2017 regular season. He started in all 16 games in 2017 and recorded 75 combined tackles (61 solo), six pass deflections, and an interception. By September of next season he was gone, released after losing the starting safety job to Curtis Riley. Thompson remains on the Cowboys practice squad.

Los Angeles Rams

Odell Beckham Jr.

The Giants selected Beckham 12th overall in the 2014 draft, who then put up four 1,000 yard seasons in five years in New York, including 44 receiving touchdowns. The Browns cut Beckham in November after two years with the club, prompting the Rams to sign him. In 2021 he made 27 receptions for 305 yards and five touchdowns, most of which came with the Rams.

DB Grant Haley

The Giants signed former undrafted free agent Grant Haley after the 2018 draft. He played in New York for two seasons, amassing 76 tackles and a sack. After a brief stint in New Orleans, Haley was signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad in October. He was promoted to the active roster on January 8th.

Arizona Cardinals

OLB Markus Golden

Markus Golden made a stop in New York in between his two stints in the desert and he sure made the most of it. In 2019 he put up 10 sacks and a career-high 72 tackles for the Giants. Golden made one sack in seven games in 2020 before the Giants flipped him back to Arizona for a sixth-round pick in October of that season. This year with the Cards, Golden has 11 sacks, the most since his 12.5 sack 2016 year.

CB Antonio Hamilton

Hamilton played in 29 games for the Giants from 2018 to 2019, racking up 23 tackles and five defended passes. He came to Arizona after a year in Kansas City, and had his most productive season with 38 tackles this year.

OLB Devon Kennard

The Giants drafted Kennard in the fifth round of the 2014 draft out of USC. He played his first four seasons in New York, gaining 203 tackles, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. This is now his second year in Arizona after two seasons spent in Detroit. In 15 games this year Kennard put up 24 tackles and a fumble recovery.

QB Colt McCoy

McCoy was arguably one of the better backups we’ve seen in East Rutherford over the past decade. Now in his 11th season, the former Texas Longhorn came to Arizona this past offseason from New York, where he backed up Daniel Jones in 2020, playing in four games.

OL Justin Pugh

The Giants drafted Pugh 19th overall in the 2013 draft and he played in five seasons for Big Blue. In March 2018, Pugh signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals and has been there since, starting all 16 games in 2019.

DE Josh Mauro (practice squad)

Mauro played for the Giants in 2018, playing in 12 games and recording 28 tackles and a sack. He was suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2018 regular season for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances and eventually earned a starting spot at defensive end. This year in Arizona, Mauro has played in five games and registered one sack.

San Francisco 49ers

CB Darqueze Dennard

Originally a first round draft pick in 2014 by Cincinnati, Dennard spent the first six years of his career as a Bengal. He was a Giant for just a few days this year, cut after appearing in one game. He signed with the 49ers practice squad in January. Dennard has played in just 18 games over the past three seasons due to injuries.

PK Robbie Gould

The 39-year-old kicker Gould spent one season as a Giant in 2016 after 11 years in Chicago, a decision that probably hasn’t gone the way the Bears organization thought it would. He only played in 10 games as a Giant.

This year he made 20 of 23 field goal attempts over 13 games in San Francisco.

LS Taybor Pepper

Pepper spent eight months as a Giant over the 2019 offseason and was released in August of that year. He played the year in Miami and signed on with San Francisco in 2020, having stuck there since.

OL Jon Halapio (practice squad)

Halapio spent four seasons in New York from 2016 to 2019. After a short stint in Denver he signed on to the 49ers practice squad in October.

WR Austin Mack (practice squad)

Former Ohio State receiver Austin Mack signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and caught seven passes for 91 yards that season. He was released in September 2021 and signed in San Francisco in December.

DT Chris Slayton (practice squad)

Slayton was drafted by the Giants in the seventh round, 245th overall, of the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent most of the year on the practice squad and was promoted to the active roster on December 27, 2019. The Giants released him in September 2020. Since then he’s bounced around the Falcons, Steelers and 49ers practice squads.

Philadelphia Eagles

None.

Tennessee Titans

PK Randy Bullock

Bullock played one game for the Giants in 2016, making two of three extra points. He then played another game for Pittsburgh that year, spent six years in Cincinnati and is now in his first season with the Titans. Bullock made 26 of 31 field goal attempts over 16 games this year.

TE Ryan Izzo

Izzo was a seventh-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2019 and helped the team win Super Bowl LIII. In September of this year he spent about 18 days on the Giants’ practice squad before hopping on Seattle’s and then Tennessee’s practice squad.

CB Jackrabbit Jenkins

One of the better cornerbacks for the Giants over the past decade, Jenkins was a big-money signing prior to the 2016 season. He spent four years in blue before an unceremonious exit in 2019 after he called another user a name on Twitter. The Giants waived him and the Saint quickly signed him. He finished the 2019 season with the Giants with 54 tackles, 14 passes defended, and four interceptions.

In his first season in Tennessee this year, Jenkins played in 14 games, recording 54 tackles and an interception.

Kansas City Chiefs

CB DeAndre Baker

The Giants selected Baker 30th overall in the first round of the 2019 draft. He played just one season in blue before getting himself into a nasty offseason situation. A warrant had been issued for Baker’s arrest under charges of armed robbery and aggravated assault with a firearm, along with Quinton Dunbar of the Seattle Seahawks. Charges were ultimately dropped for both men. The Giants moved on from Baker, who then played in two games for Kansas City last year and eight this year, recording 16 tackles.

OT Mike Remmers (Injured Reserve)

A veteran of 90 starts, Remmers bounced around several teams before he landed in New York on a one-year deal in 2019. He started 14 games at right tackle for the Giants that season. Remmers is now in his second season with Kansas City, but was placed on injured reserve in November.

CB Josh Jackson (practice squad)

The Packers selected Jackson in the second round of the 2018 draft. He lasted three seasons there, largely serving as a depth role for the Packers, receiving playing time when primary starter Kevin King was injured. The Packers traded Jackson to the Giants in August but he was waived in October without having played in a regular season game for the Giants. He’s now on the practice squad for Kansas City.

Buffalo Bills

OT Bobby Hart

The Giants took Hart in the seventh round of the 2015 draft out of Florida State. In 2016, Hart started 13 games at right tackle and played in 10 games with seven starts in 2017. But after the 2018 season the team moved on from him. He bounced around a few teams and is now on his second stint with the Bills, and was promoted to the active roster in December 2021.

QB Davis Webb (practice squad)

The Giants selected Webb in the third round (87th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the fifth quarterback selected in 2017. But the Giants cut the former Texas Tech quarterback just before the 2018 season. He spent 2018 on the Jets and was signed to the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad in September 2019. Webb has spent his time in Buffalo primarily on the practice squad.

Cincinnati Bengals

CB Eli Apple

Apple was the Giants’ 10th overall selection in the 2016 draft and made 123 tackles over three seasons in New York. The Giants traded Apple to the Saints in October 2018 for a fourth-round pick. He then spent the next two seasons in New Orleans, one in Carolina in which he saw action in just two games (2020), and this year in Cincinnati. With the Bengals, Apple played in 16 games this year, recording 49 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

Former Giants safety Landon Collins infamously referred to Apple as a “cancer” while the two were still teammates.

DT B.J. Hill

Hill was a third-round pick out of NC State in 2018 by the Giants. He played in New York for three seasons, including a 5.5 sack, 48 tackle rookie year. The Giants traded him in August 2021 to the Cincinnati Bengals for center Billy Price.

S Michael Thomas

Now in his eighth season in the NFL, Thomas spent two years in New York from 2018 to 2019, playing in every game and recording 106 tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. Thomas spent 2020 in Houston and then signed on with Cincinnati’s practice squad. He made it to the active roster in November and appeared in eight games this season, making 18 tackles.

TE Chris Myarick (practice squad)

Myarick is a practice squad player for the Bengals. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and was cut in 2021. The Giants signed him to their practice roster and he was elevated to the roster in November. He caught his first touchdown pass in week 12 against the Eagles. The Bengals picked him up after the Giants waived him in January.

Las Vegas Raiders

DT Johnathan Hankins

The Giants selected Hankins in the second round of the 2013 draft. He played in New York for four years, gaining 10 sacks and 140 tackles. He signed with the Raiders in 2018 and has stuck there ever since. This year he made 38 tackles in 14 games.

New England Patriots

TE Matt LaCosse (practice squad)

The Giants signed LaCosse as an undrafted free agent in 2015 but he was released before the season. The Giants then signed him again in November and he earned a spot on the practice roster. He was soon promoted to the active roster and made a pair of receptions. He didn’t play in any games in 2016 but found time in three games in 2017. LaCosse joined the Patriots in 2019 and saw game action early in the season. He sat out 2020 and served on the practice squad this year.

Pittsburgh Steelers

PK Chris Boswell

Boswell signed by the Houston Texans in 2014 as an undrafted free agent. He competed in training camp with the Giants in 2015 but never made the team. The Steelers then signed him and he’s remained in Pittsburgh for the past seven years.