The New York Giants are adding veteran defensive lineman Dean Lowry to their practice squad, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The moves Giants general manager Joe Schoen the extra interior depth he said the team still wanted before Sunday night’s season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
Lowry, a 6-foot-6, roughly 296-pound tackle, was Green Bay’s fourth-round pick (No. 137 overall) out of Northwestern in 2016.
He spent seven seasons with the Packers, becoming a full-time starter by 2017 and starting every regular-season game from 2019 through 2021. His best year came in 2021, when he posted a career-high 5.0 sacks and multiple pass breakups.
After leaving Green Bay as an unrestricted free agent, he spent 2023 with the Minnesota Vikings and the past two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh released him during final cuts on Aug. 30 after he missed all of 2025 with a torn ACL suffered in training camp.
He had re-signed with the Steelers this past May. In 2024, he appeared in 12 games for Pittsburgh and recorded five tackles, one sack and one pass defense. Career totals: 132 games, 85 starts, 271 tackles, 16.5 sacks, one interception and five fumble recoveries. He is 32.
The move fits a Giants defensive line that was remade after Dexter Lawrence was traded to Cincinnati.
New York’s 53-man group now includes returnee Darius Alexander plus free-agent additions D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris and trade acquisition C.J. Okoye. New York also drafted Bobby Jamison-Travis in the sixth round.
Schoen had told reporters last week the club would add another veteran lineman; Lowry can be elevated as one of two practice-squad players on game days if needed. The Giants will have to drop someone from the 17-man practice squad to make room.
Lowry offers size, experience and some scheme flexibility as a five-technique or rotational three-technique.
Whether he is a short-term insurance piece or a candidate for a midseason promotion will depend on health and how quickly he gets up to speed after the ACL.
For a Packers product who started 85 NFL games, the practice squad is a modest but practical next stop as Week 1 arrives.
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