The New York Giants have added veteran defensive lineman Dean Lowry to their practice squad, according to a report from The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.
The move brings a long-running rumor to completion after the team and the 32-year-old Northwestern product had discussed a similar arrangement back in early September that never advanced beyond preliminary talks.
Lowry arrives in New York as a seasoned interior presence with more than a decade of NFL experience.
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, he spent seven seasons in Wisconsin, developing into a reliable starter who logged double-digit starts in multiple campaigns and posted a career-high five sacks in 2021.
After leaving Green Bay he signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, then joined the Pittsburgh Steelers the following offseason on another multi-year contract.
Pittsburgh re-signed him last spring, but the team released him during final roster cuts after he had spent the entire 2025 season on injured reserve recovering from an ACL tear suffered in training camp.
Across 132 career regular-season games and 85 starts with the Packers, Vikings, and Steelers, Lowry has recorded 271 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 18 passes defensed, one interception, one forced fumble, and five fumble recoveries.
In his most recent active season with Pittsburgh in 2024 he appeared in 12 games, registering five tackles, one sack, and one pass deflection while operating primarily as rotational depth.
At 6-foot-6 and 296 pounds, he offers the kind of length and physicality that can help clog interior gaps, though his recent production and the knee injury have limited his snap share in recent years.
For the Giants the addition addresses an ongoing need for defensive-line depth.
New York traded All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals in the spring for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 draft, then signed veterans D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris to help fill the void.
While those free-agent additions have provided useful production, the interior group has been tested by injuries and the demands of a long season.
Lowry’s experience as a former full-time starter gives the coaching staff another option who can be elevated from the practice squad on game days if the active roster needs reinforcement.
At this stage of his career Lowry is not expected to reclaim a starting role, but his familiarity with multiple defensive schemes and his history of contributing on early downs could prove useful for a Giants defense that has ranked among the league’s better units overall while still searching for consistent interior stability.
With the regular season well underway, the late-October signing offers both sides a low-risk opportunity: New York gains an experienced body who can step in on short notice, and Lowry receives another chance to show he can still contribute after missing all of last year.
