Detroit Lions and New York Giants players: who played for both

Who played for both the Lions and Giants?

100 players were on both the Detroit Lions and the New York Giants rosters between 1960 and 2026, including Josh Johnson, Lomas Brown, Earl Morrall and Kevin Zeitler. 48 of them were with the Lions first and 48 with the Giants first; 4 joined both in the same season.

Did you know?

  • Hugh McElhenny is the earliest on this list to complete the pair: Giants first, then the Lions from 1964.
  • DJ Reader is the most recent: Lions first, then the Giants from 2026.
  • Doug Van Horn spent the most seasons across the two: 1 with the Lions and 12 with the Giants.
  • 4 of them had two or more separate spells with one of the teams, such as Kent Graham.
  • Most common positions on this list: DL (14), LB (13), DB (13), OL (11).

How many can you name?

Name players who were on both the Lions and the Giants. The surname is enough. 0 / 100

All 100 players, most seasons first

Seasons on each roster (1960–2026). A gap of a season or more starts a new spell.
PlayerPosLionsGiants
Josh JohnsonQB20192016
Lomas BrownT1985–19952000–2001
Earl MorrallQB1960–19641965–1967
Kevin ZeitlerOL20242019–2020
Doug Van HornOL19661968–1979
Pepper JohnsonLB19961986–1992
Bob ThomasSPEC19821986
Chris HubbardOL20252024
Shaun RogersDT2001–20072013
A'Shawn RobinsonDL2016–20192023
DJ ReaderDL2024–20252026
Golden TateWR2014–20182019–2020
Kent GrahamQB19951992–1994, 1998–1999
Mike McCoyDL19801979–1980
R.W. McQuartersCB20052006–2008
Barrett BrooksT1999–20002002
Bill TriplettRB1968–19721967
Bruce MaherDB1960–19671968–1969
Dan CampbellTE2006–20081999–2002
Kalif RaymondWR2021–20252017
Keith WashingtonDE19962003–2004
Logan ThomasTE20192016
Michael BrooksLB19961993–1995
Milt PlumQB1962–19671969
Ray OldhamDB1980–19821979
Vern HollandOL19801980
William JamesCB20092001–2005
Alfred PupunuTE20001997–1998
Damon HarrisonDL2018–20192016–2018
Devon KennardLB2018–20192014–2017
Evan BrownOL2020–20222018–2019
Jeremy LincolnDB20001998–1999
John MendenhallDL19801972–1979
Larry WatkinsRB19691975–1977
Levine ToiloloTE20182020–2021
Nicholas WilliamsDL2020–20212022
Pete MitchellTE20011999–2000
Reuben DroughnsRB2000–20012007–2008
Robert MasseyDB1994–19951997
Bear PascoeTE20152009–2013
Chris BoardLB20222025
Danny SheltonDL20202021
Jamon MeredithT20102010
Kelvin SheppardMLB20182016–2017
Kenny WigginsOL2018–20202020
Romeo OkwaraDL2018–20232016–2017
Bob ScholtzOL1960–19641965–1966
Butch WoolfolkRB1987–19881982–1984
C.C. BrownFS20102009
Corey BallentineDB20212019–2020
Dan LewisRB1960–19641966
Geoff SchwartzT20162014–2015
Jarrad DavisLB2017–2020, 20222022–2023
Kareem MartinLB20202018–2019
Maurice TylerDB19761978
Reggie RaglandLB20202021
Tim BoyleQB20212024
Ty SummersLB20252024
Aldrick RosasK20212017–2019
Barrett GreenOLB2000–20032004–2005
Bill SwainLB1968–19691965, 1967
Corey RaymondDB1995–19971992–1994
Dan GoichDL1969–19701972–1973
Herb WelchDB1990–19911985–1987
Karl ChandlerOL1978–19791974–1977
Kenny GolladayWR2017–20202021–2022
Kevin OgletreeWR2013–20142014
Max MessnerLB1960–19631964
Sheldon WhiteDB1990–19921988–1989
Curtis BoltonLB20212024
Dave GallagherDL1978–19791975–1976
Devin TaylorDE2013–20162017
Hugh McElhennyRB19641963
Jermelle CudjoDT20152016
Jerome CunninghamTE20182014–2015
Jerry GolsteynQB19791977–1978
Larry VargoDB1962–19631966
T.J. JonesWR2015–20182019
Tony UgohT20102011
Vyto KabTE19871985
Dave SimonsonOL19771975
George WinnRB2014–20162016
Mickey ZofkoRB1971–19731974
Mike BundraDL1962–19631965
Stantley Thomas-OliverDB20242024
Thurston ArmbristerLB2016–20172018
Brian MihalikOL2016–20172018
Brian WitherspoonCB20092010
Emmett ClearyOL20172015
Jarren WilliamsDB20222020–2021
Khyri ThorntonDL2015–20172017
Lou SlabyLB19661964–1965
Mark DuckensDL19901989
Michael MatthewsTE20092007–2008
Paul PerkinsRB20192016–2017, 2019
Ryan SantosoP20212020
Don PattersonDB19791980
Gene WashingtonWR19781979
Mike FriedeWR19801980–1981
Roger LaLondeDL19641965

From the nflverse roster files (CC BY 4.0), refreshed 2026-10-06. A season counts when the player was on the roster: from 2002 on, at least one regular-season or playoff week as active, injured reserve or inactive (practice squad alone does not count); 1960–2001 use the season rosters.

What next? Play today's NFL Grid

Fill a 3×3 board of team pairs like this one, with nine guesses and a rarity score. New board every day.

Play the NFL GridCareer path gameLions player gameGiants player game

More “played for both” lists

Detroit Lions and…

Colts 117Cardinals 116Browns 111Saints 111Falcons 110Dolphins 109Rams 108Seahawks 107Commanders 10649ers 105

New York Giants and…

Commanders 122Browns 114Patriots 105Cardinals 104Vikings 104Eagles 10149ers 95Jets 94Colts 92Dolphins 88

All team pairs

Questions

How many players have played for both the Detroit Lions and the New York Giants?

100 in the nflverse roster files from 1960 to 2026, including Josh Johnson, Lomas Brown, Earl Morrall and Kevin Zeitler. Players whose time with one of the teams was practice squad only, or before 1960, are not counted.

Who was the first player on this list to play for both?

Hugh McElhenny: New York Giants first, then the Detroit Lions from 1964.

Who has played for both recently?

Chris Hubbard, DJ Reader, Kalif Raymond, Chris Board and Ty Summers, with a season on one of the two rosters in 2025 or 2026.

Does a player count if the team has moved or changed its name?

Yes. Seasons count for today's franchise, the way the league keeps team history. Neither of these teams has moved since 1960.

Rosters from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). Team logos are trademarks of their respective teams (logos via TheSportsDB). Independent and not affiliated with the NFL or any team. Credits