Giants UDFA CB Thaddeus Dixon Suffers Season-Ending Injury

Undrafted rookie Thaddeus Dixon’s season is over before it began after a devastating workout injury.

Former North Carolina defensive back Thaddeus Dixon will miss his rookie NFL season after tearing his Achilles. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, an undrafted rookie free agent out of North Carolina who had hoped to make the New York Giants’ 53-man roster, will not get that chance after all, at least not this season.

Dixon suffered a torn Achilles tendon during a team workout on Wednesday, the NFL Network reported, meaning his rookie campaign is over.

This injury comes on the heels of Dixon having dealt with a hamstring strain that was a significant factor in his going undrafted in this year’s draft.

Dixon, 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, was an early favorite to at the very least land up with a spot on the practice squad.

Dixon began his path to the NFL as a JUCO player, having spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California. He then transferred to the University of Washington in 2023, and then finished his college career at North Carolina in 2025.

He was among the premium undrafted free agents signed who received guaranteed money. Dixon received $282,500 in guaranteed money, which consisted of a $35,000 signing bonus and a $242,500 full year’s base salary for a rookie on the practice squad.

A big, physical corner who would have had to prove himself on special teams, Dixon was penciled in on the team’s unofficial depth chart at left cornerback, behind starter Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks, Korie Black, and Art Green.

Banks is in the final year of his rookie deal after the Giants declined to pick up his option year earlier this month.

Black, whom the Giants drafted last year in the seventh round out of Oklahoma State, only to lose him to the Jets before signing him back to the roster later in the season, was thrust prematurely into making two starts due to injuries at the position.

He finished having played 184 snaps on defense with 13 tackles, three touchdowns allowed, and just one pass breakup for a 158.3 coverage rating.

Green, who re-signed in the offseason, has been more of a core special teams player for the Giants, a role he’s likely to resume this season.

Dixon’s injury explains the Giants’ sudden interest in former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback/special teamer Nazeeh Johnson, who was due to visit Big Blue on Thursday for a workout.

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