As the roster gets shuffled and UDFas are added, Giants made room earlier by releasing LB DeMarvin Leal. He signed a futures deal earlier this year.
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The New York Giants have released edge defender DeMarvin Leal following the NFL draft.
The New York Giants came to terms with several undrafted free agent (UDFA) signings after the 2026 NFL Draft, and those additions led to the news of one roster cut.
“As the roster gets shuffled and UDFAs are added, the Giants made room earlier by releasing LB DeMarvin Leal,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan relayed after the draft.
As the roster gets shuffled and UDFas are added, Giants made room earlier by releasing LB DeMarvin Leal. He signed a futures deal earlier this year.
Raanan also reminded fans that Leal only “signed a futures deal” with Big Blue in January.
GettyThe New York Giants have parted ways with former Pittsburgh Steelers third-round pick DeMarvin Leal.
Leal was a third-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022. He entered the league at a fairly young age and is only turning 26 in July.
So, this was pretty much a flyer based on upside potential by the Giants.
Raanan described Leal as a linebacker, but he’s really a positionless tweener who has attempted to play both defensive end and outside linebacker at the NFL level. That’s been the main issue of his career, as he’s been unable to find a role that properly suits him.
At his core, Leal is an edge defender in modern-day terms. But he has not shown much of a pass-rushing impact since being drafted.
Leal registered 1.0 career sack in Pittsburgh and just 3 QB hits. He also only achieved 3 tackles for a loss, so his collegiate production as a disruptor never really translated.
At Texas A&M, Leal racked up 13.0 sacks over three seasons. He was particularly impressive in his junior year in 2021, sacking the quarterback 8.5 times.
Leal also had 25 tackles for a loss at the college level, with 12.5 TFLs in 2021.
That was likely the prospect the Steelers believed they were drafting in round three. And that’s the same player the Giants were willing to take a low-risk bet on this offseason.
For now, Leal will reenter the free agent pool as a veteran edge rusher option.
If you incorporate both inside linebackers and outside linebackers on the edge, the Giants have no shortage of talent in this area.
2026 first-round pick Arvell Reese will likely play some sort of hybrid role this year. Then you have primary OLBs Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Chauncey Golston, and Trace Ford.
Similarly, the inside linebacker and special teams groups have grown since the draft. Sixth-round pick Jack Kelly joins Tremaine Edmunds, Micah McFadden, Darius Muasau, Zaire Barnes, Swayze Bozeman, and Cam Jones.
The Giants didn’t add any linebackers in the early UDFA news, but they did bring in several bodies at other positions, which means fewer roster spots to go around.
All of this led to Leal being expendable in the early stages of the offseason program.
And it’s also a potential sign that the Giants will keep Thibodeaux. Amid constant trade speculation, Big Blue has remained firm on its Thibodeaux stance.
The front office will not trade him if the return does not match their valuation of the player. They also seem to think of Reese as more of an off-ball linebacker early in his career, which would make Thibodeaux’s presence more necessary on the edge.
For now, there’s no reason to move Thibodeaux just to move him. If the Giants are in the playoff hunt later this year, they’ll probably ride out his fifth-year option. If not, they could trade him midseason when teams are more desperate for roster help.
Michael Obermuller covers the NFL as an Associate Editor for Heavy Sports, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the NFL breaking news operation, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. Michael is an NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate. More about Michael Obermuller
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