FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It is not the job or the responsibility of the Giants to spread talent around the rest of the league. It has been challenging enough the past few years to stock their own roster with enough quality players.
It is telling, though, when players who fail to make the final cut with the Giants often do not get signed anywhere else around the NFL. This is a clear indication the 90-man roster the Giants assembled in the summer was not exactly teeming with skill and ability.
The past few years, finding 53 players worthy of making the final round of cuts was quite a battle. It bottomed out one year ago, when the Giants in the first year of the Dave Gettleman/Pat Shurmur regime made their cuts and came out with their 53-man roster one day and then dramatically changed it one day later. They dropped seven players who made the initial cut and were with the team throughout the preseason and signed seven players with no knowledge of the Giants’ system, players jettisoned from teams around the league. Such an overhaul heading into a regular season was a sure sign there simply was not enough NFL talent on the expanded summer roster.
The Giants finish up their preseason Thursday night against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. On Saturday, they must get down to the 53-player limit. On Sunday, do not expect the upheaval and additions from the waiver wire to be as extensive as it was last year.
“I would imagine no,’’ Shurmur said. “We obviously flipped this roster quite a bit last year. We certainly like a lot of the players that we have on our roster this year. I’ve mentioned it all along, I think we’re going to have to make some tough decisions at some positions. Guys that have really competed and really earned a chance to be here.’’
It is not as if the Giants are loaded with quality depth, but there are positions where players deserving of NFL roster spots will have to find one elsewhere.
“Right now, we really don’t have a depth chart, so I wouldn’t say who’s at the bottom of the roster,’’ Shurmur said before the final preseason game. “I will say this. We sort of know who’s at the top of the roster. Everybody beyond that, and especially all of the guys that play [versus the Patriots] certainly have a chance to impress us in a way where they can make our football team.’’
At wide receiver, the suspension of Golden Tate for the first four games and the season-ending knee injury to Corey Coleman likely means veteran backups Bennie Fowler and Russell Shepard return and Cody Latimer starts alongside Sterling Shepard and rookie Darius Slayton gets a reprieve despite a lingering hamstring issue. It also could mean T.J. Jones could stick following a solid summer. Another young receiver, Alonzo Russell, did enough to dent the roster but might get caught in a numbers game.
At safety, Jabrill Peppers and Antoine Bethea are newcomers brought in to start — Peppers
with the Browns for Odell Beckham Jr. and Bethea was signed in free agency. Veteran Michael Thomas and rookie Julian Love are in reserve. All four figure to make the team. Sean Chandler, undrafted out of Temple in 2018, played in all 16 games last season but will have a hard time finding a roster spot with a jam-up at his position.
“Just make my plays when they come, just do my job,’’ Chandler told The Post, referring to his approach this summer. “Nothing more.’’
Asked if he thinks he is in a good spot, Chandler said, “I’ve been trying to do my job. You’re never safe.’’
What is certain is the Giants will not keep four quarterbacks on the roster. They might not keep three of them, if Shurmur believes he can go with Eli Manning and rookie Daniel Jones and needs a roster spot at another position. Kyle Lauletta, entering his second year, would be a candidate for the practice squad if that is the direction the Giants want to go. Lauletta is a draft pick (fourth round, 2018) of this regime and cutting him would be a bad look for Gettleman. The other quarterback, Alex Tanney, last year beat out Davis Webb, a 2017 third-round pick of Jerry Reese and the previous regime.
Perhaps, but not likely, Jones has been impressive enough for the Giants to keep only two quarterbacks.
“We’ll have to see how we do that,’’ Shurmur said. “The rest of the roster is dependent on that as well. I’ve said it all along, I’d keep four. I’d keep five if the roster would allow for it, because I think quarterback development in our league is primary. You can only develop by playing and practicing. I’m fond of having lots of quarterbacks around. That’s just my feeling. But we’ll just have to see how it plays out when we get to the final 53.’’
