The New York Giants, whose pass rush has been sluggish this season, activated linebacker Elerson Smith off the injured reserve list.
Smith, the team's fourth-round draft pick, had missed all of training camp and the first eight weeks of the season while recovering from a significant hamstring injury. Before being drafted y the Giants, Smith last played in a game on December 13, 2019, when he was with Northern Iowa (whose 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Smith played in 38 games with 15 starts in three seasons at Northern Iowa and totaled 85 tackles (41 solos) 22.0 sacks, 32.5 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, 16 quarterback hits, eight passes defensed, and two blocked kicks.
This year, the Giants pass rush has been mostly sluggish, having recorded just 18.0 sacks so far this season.
The Giants also announced they've elevated linebacker Trent Harris and wide receiver/return specialist Pharoh Cooper from the practice squad. With the team having placed Dante Pettis on injured reserve with a shoulder ailment suffered in Monday night's loss to the Chiefs, Cooper could be called upon to fill the return specialist position while also providing some depth at receiver on the offense.
Cooper was named a 2017 Pro Bowler as a return specialist after returning a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown and posting career-high averages of 27.4 yards on four kickoff returns and 12.5 yards on two punt returns.
This is the second time Harris has been called up from the practice squad, where he's filled in for injured starter Lorenzo Carter, who was declared out on Friday. On Monday night, Harris played seven snaps and was credited with one solo tackle on defense, and also played 18 special teams snaps. Harris played in four games with two starts in his first season with the Giants in 2020.
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