A former Buffalo Bills player has hit the open market three years after he was poached by the New York Giants.
The Giants announced on Sunday that they parted ways with veteran receiver Isaiah Hodgins, who was a regular part of their offense since joining the team in 2023. Hodgins will now become a free agent, with a potential return to New York in the cards.
Isaiah Hodgins Seeking Fresh NFL Start
The Giants released Hodgins as part of their final roster cuts, with NFL teams required to whittle their 90-man summer rosters down to 53 players by Sunday at 6 p.m.
The Bills initially drafted Hodgins with a sixth-round pick in 2020, but he missed his rookie season after being placed on injured reserve. He was assigned to Buffalo’s practice squad the next season, appearing in just one game that year. The Bills waived Hodgins again in 2022 after he was elevated to the practice squad, but the Giants picked him up off waivers.
Hodgins appeared in 35 games for the Giants across four seasons with 14 starts. He made 66 receptions for 708 yards with eight touchdowns for the Giants.
Hodgins was one of several former Bills players to suit up for the Giants, who hired former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their head coach and former Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen as their GM.
Bills Make Wide Receiver Decisions in Final Roster
The Bills brought in a deep wide receiving group to compete for roster spots this summer, leading to some difficult decisions on Sunday. The team announced that they cut ties with promising wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin along with veterans Mecole Hardman and Trent Sherfield.
Sherfield’s release came as a bit of a surprise as several analysts predicted that he had done enough during the preseason to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Sherfield was a regular on special teams units and earned a resounding endorsement from quarterback Josh Allen.
“Trent’s always been great,” Allen said, via the Buffalo News. “I think everyone in this building has a lot of trust in Trent, and he just gets open, makes contested catches. I feel great throwing him the ball. I know he’s going to protect it, and it’s just hard work, man. So, it’s awesome to see him have success.”
Sherfield also said that he learned to embrace a role on special teams, which gave him a roster advantage.
“I think as I gotten older in my career, I realized that you know embracing both will create longevity for me,” Sherfield said. “And so, it wasn’t until even when I was in Minnesota in ’24 where I was really like, ‘You know what? Let me really embrace this. Let me really embrace what it means to be a blocker and receiver, special-teams guy and being able to fill in on all three spots.’ ”
Former Bills Draft Pick WR Cut Loose By Giants at Roster Deadline