Look, the New York Giants roster is basically a revolving door right now. If you've been following the team this season, you know the inside linebacker room has looked more like a hospital ward than a professional football unit. It’s rough. So when news broke that the Jonas Griffith Giants signing was official, most fans probably just saw a name they vaguely remembered from a Denver Broncos highlight reel a few years back.
But there is a lot more to this than just "filling a seat."
Griffith isn't some fresh-faced rookie. He’s 28. He’s 6'4" and 250 pounds of pure physical prototype. Honestly, on paper, he’s exactly what Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll want in a modern linebacker—long, fast, and aggressive. But the road to East Rutherford has been anything but smooth for him. We are talking about a guy who has literally had his career derailed by his own body multiple times.
The Reality of the Jonas Griffith Giants Signing
Let’s be real about the situation. Griffith didn't walk into a guaranteed starting spot. He was signed to the practice squad initially, which is basically the NFL's version of a "prove it" internship. The Giants were desperate. They had just moved Jude McAtamney and Nevile Hewitt to the active roster, leaving two massive holes on the scout team.
Griffith was one of those holes' solutions.
Why him? Well, the guy has 92 career tackles. That’s not nothing. He started 12 games for the Broncos between 2021 and 2022. When he’s healthy, he is a legitimate NFL starter. The problem—and it’s a big one—is that "when."
📖 Related: Why the March Madness 2022 Bracket Still Haunts Your Sports Betting Group Chat
His medical history reads like a horror novel for athletes:
- A torn ACL in August 2023 that cost him an entire season.
- A setback during the 2024 training camp.
- A second ACL surgery on that same knee in late 2024.
He basically spent two years away from the game. Most players don't come back from that. The fact that the Giants even brought him in for a workout, let alone signed him, says they saw something in his recovery that suggested the old "Mile High" version of Griffith was still in there somewhere.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Move
People think practice squad signings are just about the 53-man roster. They aren't. Not always. Sometimes, it’s about intel.
Remember who the Giants played right after the Jonas Griffith Giants signing? The Denver Broncos. Griffith spent three seasons in that building. Even if he wasn't playing under the current scheme for the entirety of his stay, he knows the personnel. He knows how Patrick Surtain II moves. He knows the tendencies of the guys he practiced against for years.
It’s a "sneaky" move, as some beat writers called it. But beyond the "spy" games, the Giants genuinely needed a body that could hit.
👉 See also: Mizzou 2024 Football Schedule: What Most People Get Wrong
The Physical Profile
- Height: 6'4"
- Weight: 250 lbs
- College: Indiana State (Where he was a six-time All-American, by the way)
- Play Style: Downhill thumper with enough speed to cover the flats.
If you look at the Giants' interior linebacker depth earlier this season, it was paper thin. Bobby Okereke is a stud, sure, but behind him? It was a lot of "who’s that?" Griffith brought a veteran presence, even if it was just on the practice field.
The Short-Lived New York Stint
Here is the part that usually gets buried in the SEO-optimized headlines: it didn't last long.
Griffith signed on October 13, 2025. By October 21, he was released.
Wait, what?
Yeah, that’s the brutal nature of the NFL. One week you’re the "intriguing veteran addition," and the next, you’re making room for a defensive lineman like Elijah Garcia. The Giants' roster needs in 2025 were shifting by the hour. They needed more help on the edge and the interior line than they did at off-ball linebacker once a few other guys got healthy.
✨ Don't miss: Current Score of the Steelers Game: Why the 30-6 Texans Blowout Changed Everything
Does that mean the signing was a failure? Not necessarily. For Griffith, it was a bridge. It was a signal to the rest of the league that he passed a physical, he could practice, and his knee wasn't going to explode the moment he backpedaled. For the Giants, it was cheap insurance during a week where they were banged up.
Lessons for Giants Fans and Fantasy Owners
If you're looking for actionable insights here, the biggest one is this: The Giants are prioritize traits over health in their depth signings. Schoen loves guys with high "RAS" (Relative Athletic Scores). Griffith had that. Even with the injuries, his raw numbers from his pro day at Indiana State were elite. If you see the Giants signing a guy with a long injury history but "freakish" size, don't be surprised. It’s their blueprint for the practice squad.
Also, keep an eye on Griffith in the 2026 offseason. Now that he’s put a few weeks of practice film out there—even if it was just in Jersey—he’s likely to land a "futures" contract somewhere. The talent is too high to ignore, but the durability is the ultimate red flag.
Next Steps to Track the Roster
- Monitor the "Futures" signings in late January. If Griffith isn't back with Big Blue, he’ll likely be on a roster in the NFC West or AFC West where coaches have previous ties to him.
- Watch the LB snap counts. The fact that Griffith was released so quickly suggests the Giants feel better about their young developmental pieces like Darius Muasau.
- Check the injury settlements. Griffith’s career has been defined by them. If he signs elsewhere and hits IR again, that’s likely the end of the road.
The Jonas Griffith Giants signing was a blip on the 2025 radar, but it was a perfect example of how NFL teams manage "high-upside, low-risk" assets. It was a low-cost gamble on a guy who once looked like a future Pro Bowler in Denver. Sometimes those gambles pay off; sometimes they're just a one-week stay in a hotel near MetLife Stadium.