Giants elevate Malik Harrison to active roster, add veteran Dawuane Smoot to practice squad

The New York Giants made a pair of roster adjustments on Oct. 13, promoting linebacker Malik Harrison to the active roster and adding veteran outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot to the practice squad. The moves, announced by the club, underscore how late-season roster management often turns on linebacker depth and the ability to maintain a flexible group through game-week preparation.

Harrison’s elevation to the active roster places an additional linebacker into the Giants’ regular game-day mix. While the club did not add further transactional detail in the announcement, the immediate significance is straightforward. An active-roster promotion increases the team’s immediate options on defense and special teams, particularly in packages that call for more bodies in the run fit and in coverage sub-groupings.

Smoot’s assignment to the practice squad provides New York with another experienced edge presence for training sessions and situational work. Practice-squad additions can be more than developmental stints, especially when the incoming player has played at the NFL level and can help simulate opposing formations, give coaches a clearer look at different blitz and coverage rhythms, and contribute to the standard of practice reps during the week.

Both transactions are framed by positional clarity. Harrison is listed as a linebacker, while Smoot is listed as an outside linebacker, aligning the Giants’ two moves with roles that frequently overlap in defensive design, whether it is setting the edge against the run or contributing pass-rush pressures from multiple angles. In modern defenses, those responsibilities can shift rapidly between downs and personnel groupings, so adding players who can operate at linebacker roles matters to the coaching staff’s plan.

From a roster-building standpoint, the Giants’ approach reflects a common NFL balancing act. Teams often keep active depth to protect the defensive unit for Sunday, then round out the weekly workload with practice-squad experience that can be activated if circumstances require it. The announcement’s wording indicates the Giants are treating both moves as functional roster tools, not long-term commitments spelled out publicly.

What to watch next is how New York uses the two players in game-week preparation and whether Harrison’s active-roster status translates into increased snaps in particular defensive packages. In the same way, Smoot’s practice-squad role may be revealed by the nature of New York’s defensive looks during the week, especially if the Giants emphasize a certain style of pressure or coverage shell that benefits from an outside linebacker’s edge work.