With Isaiah Likely and Chris Manhertz ahead of him, tight end Thomas Fidone II needs a strong training camp just to make the 53.
, perhaps staring at the possibility of remaking their tight end room given how Daniel Bellinger and Chris Manhertz were not signed beyond that season, took a flier on a raw but highly athletic prospect out of Nebraska by the name of Thomas Fidone II.
Fidone, a tall and lanky tight end with good hands, was primarily a blocker during his three seasons at Nebraska– that is, when he wasn’t sidelined by two ACL tears.over three seasons, Fidone didn’t allow a single quarterback pressure. And his run blocking grades each season hovered in the mid-50s.
All of that was enough for the Giants to spend one of their seventh-round picks on Fidone, who, as a receiver, posted a career 69.3% reception rate and averaged 10.4 yards per reception while scoring four touchdowns, all of those scores coming in 2023, his second season with the Cornhuskers. Fidone, who came to the Giants with an injury history, unfortunately wasn’t able to shake that in his first NFL season.
He suited up for 7 games, playing only on special teams, where he recorded 1 solo tackle. He was placed on IR in mid-November with a foot injury, ending his season. So what was it the Giants liked about this prospect? Fidone, a good route runner, has raw athletic ability just waiting to be molded into something special.
He has the size and skill set to become a receiving threat, his 6-foot-6 frame giving him a size advantage not just in contested-catch opportunities but also in blocking out defenders downfield. In addition to his special teams value, Fidone, with a little more bulk added to his frame, could even develop into a serviceable blocker. In 92 preseason snaps on offense, Fidone displayed very good hands, long arms, and an impressive wingspan.
He caught eight of nine preseason pass targets for 39 yards and one touchdown, an average of 5.1 yards per reception. Fidone also wasn’t that shabby when it came to blocking. As an inline tight end, he finished with aFidone is in the second year of his four-year rookie contract. He carries a $1.042 million cap hit for this year, which is 0.3% of the team’s overall salary cap.
As a potential bubble player, if Fidone does not make the 53-man roster, the team can save just over $1million while only eating $37,379 in dead money this year and $74,758 in dead money next year. Fidone underwent a cleanup procedure on that foot during the 2026 spring practices, which kept him out of the back end of the spring sessions. He should be ready for training camp. The question, though, is whether there will be a spot for him.
The addition of Isaiah Likely and the return of Chris Manhertz, along with Theo Johnson, push Fidone to the roster bubble. If Fidone is going to make this team–and we think he’s probably going to be more of a candidate for the practice squad–he’ll need to improve his overall blocking game so that it at least approaches that of what Manhertz has delivered these past two seasons.
Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls , the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants.
In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.
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