Giants sign 3 defenders; DL Ryder Anderson waived/injured

The New York Giants made a series of roster moves Monday as they prepare for this weekend’s preseason finale against the New York Jets.

The Giants signed defensive tackle Kyler Baugh, linebacker Trey Kiser, and defensive back Clayton Isbell. In corresponding moves, defensive lineman Ryder Anderson and wide receiver Dennis Houston were waived/injured while offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste was placed on injured reserve.

Baugh signed with the New Orleans Saints after going undrafted in April. He played 10 snaps in the Saints’ first preseason game before being waived last week.

The 6-foot-2, 305-pound defensive lineman began his collegiate career at Houston Baptist, where he spent three seasons (2019-21) before transferring to Minnesota, where he was teammates with Giants rookie safety Tyler Nubin. Baugh played in 26 games over his two seasons with the Golden Gophers and finished with 77 tackles, four sacks, seven tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and four passes defensed.

He was selected All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media both years at Minnesota.

Kiser spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason before being released a few weeks ago.

The 6-foot, 224-pound linebacker spent three seasons at South Alabama, where he played on both defense and special teams. During his senior season, he played in all 13 games with 12 starts and registered 68 total tackles (29 solo), 2.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. Kiser earned All-Sun Belt Conference Honorable Mention recognition after the season.

He began his collegiate career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College, where he was the program’s only first-team all-Southwest Junior College Football Conference selection as a freshman after posting 55 total tackles, including seven tackles for loss.

Isbell signed with the Carolina Panthers after going undrafted in April. His collegiate career began at Illinois State, where he played for three seasons and was named second-team All-MVFC as a redshirt junior in 2021. He then transferred to Utah for the 2022 campaign, where he played in 14 games with one start.

Due to the COVID-19 rules, Isbell gained an extra year of eligibility, which he spent at Coastal Carolina. In 13 games as a super senior, Isbell registered 89 tackles, three interceptions and eight pass breakups, which led to third-team All-Sun Belt honors.

Anderson spent the entire 2023 campaign on the Giants’ practice squad after playing in seven regular season games with two starts as a rookie in 2022. He left Saturday’s game against the Texans early with a hamstring injury.

Houston also spent the 2023 season on the team’s practice squad, while Cajuste was on the practice squad for most of the year.