Giants Promote Johnson, Place Schlottmann on Injured Reserve

The New York Giants made the difficult decision to cut fullback Jakob Johnson during the trim down to 53 players on Tuesday. Fortunately for New York, its best fullback made his way to the practice squad .

Just days later, he’s already back on the roster.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll announced on Thursday that Johnson would be promoted, filling the spot of center Austin Schlottman, whose season is in doubt after suffering a leg injury at Wednesday’s practice.

Johnson was expected to be the fourth member of the tight end room to make the roster, but New York initially kept just three tight ends. Instead, it opted to keep 10 offensive linemen – making sure a true center (Schlottmann) made the roster.

For now, the Giants are back to nine linemen – guard Greg Van Roten can play center in a pinch – and continues to prioritize physicality with the bottom of its roster. This means they decided not to promote one of the handful of offensive linemen already on the roster.

To fill Johnson’s absence on the practice squad, the team brought back center Jimmy Morrissey, who Schlottmann leapfrogged on the depth chart this summer.

For Johnson, not much changes. He theoretically would see more playing time, but it isn’t immediately clear if he’ll be active every Sunday. On the practice squad, he could have been elevated for the handful of games the team wanted to prioritize more two-back runs.

Related: What Does Johnson Signing Mean for Giants?

If he sticks on the 53-man roster, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him pass protecting at tight end, figuring into the early-down offense, and participating on special teams in the early going.