9 Giants Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s NFL Roster Deadline

OT Matt Nelson

Similarly to McKethan, tackle Matt Nelson was a veteran that the Giants brought into camp for experience and to compete for a depth role behind Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eleumenor due to his history at both sides of the line. He has not stood out at camp to earn the job over the other candidates and will get released to the open market to try his luck with another team. 

Nelson appeared in 31 snaps during the preseason, all of which came at the right tackle position which was up in the air given the fall from grace that Evan Neal has taken amid injury. At that time, however, he posted posted pass-blocking grades below 30.0 and his blocking efficiency in the Houston game was as low as 62.5 percent thanks to a sack and three total pressures he succumbed to in that limited period of work. 

Going into their end-of-preseason roster cuts, it’s likely the Giants retain Joshua Ezeudu and Neal to serve as swing tackle options for the 2024 season. Neither is a great choice, but they have knowledge of the Giants system already and can hopefully be coached into better versatile blockers by offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo who is known to tackle dirt and turn it into gold with offensive linemen. 

Nelson, a sixth-year pro, will earn some consideration elsewhere for a rotational job given his resume. In his last five seasons with Detroit, he’s played in 1,072 snaps with the most coming in the 2021 season. He has allowed 52 total pressures and posted a 95.3 career efficiency rating which is serviceable for a modern offensive lineman. 

Nelson actually had his best pass-blocking campaign in the NFL last year with a 71.3 score and just two pressures allowed in very limited work with the Lions front. It just didn’t come together in East Rutherford for the veteran, but perhaps he cleans it up in a different city.