Coming out of high school, Thomas Fidone II was a four-star recruit who harbored high expectations as soon as he stepped on the Nebraska campus. After all, that’s what happens when you pass on scholarships from Michigan and LSU. But in a devastating twist, he tore his ACL in back-to-back seasons and did not suit up for the Cornhuskers until 2023.
It’s been a difficult journey for the 22-year-old, but he quickly showcased why he was so highly touted coming out of high school. Fidone II appeared in every game across the last two seasons and showcased enough potential for the New York Giants to select him in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, being selected 219th overall.
Fidone II entered the summer facing an uphill battle to make the Week 1 roster. He entered a competition with Daniel Bellinger and Greg Dulcich to be the TE2 behind Theo Johnson, and helped his case with Big Blue after catching eight passes for 64 yards and a score in the preseason.
Thomas Fidone’s journey to make the Week 1 roster is summarized by resilience
And his performance was enough to keep him with New York. On Tuesday afternoon, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that he beat out Dulcich— the former third-rounder who played with Russell Wilson in Denver—to make the final roster.
With Greg Dulcich let go (per @TomPelissero), seventh-round TE Thomas Fidone — he of the self-tattooing skills — has inked himself onto the #Giants’ 53-man roster, sources say. Fidone caught 8 of 9 targets for 64 yards in the preseason and showed strong blocking ability as well. pic.twitter.com/pmkyVo8EK5
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 26, 2025
For the first season or so of Fidone’s college career, he was coached by Scott Frost. Then the team hired former Panthers coach Matt Rhule, whose family Fidone remains close with. And Rhule even told 247 Sports that he was incredibly proud of Fidone for the perseverance he displayed this summer.
"They had a really deep tight end room. He had a really good camp and so even if he didn't make that team he was going to make a team," Rhule said. "But I'm really proud of him because I've seen everything that went into him coming back."
That resilience — overcoming two major injuries, fighting through roster cuts, and refusing to give in — now defines Fidone’s story. And it’s that same kind of toughness that Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen have been searching for as they reshape New York’s roster to fit their vision.
His 4.70 speed may not impress you, but is deceptively athletic for someone standing at 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds. And he’s built like a power forward, so you know that he’ll be a weapon in the red zone for Russell Wilson.
His journey is enough to make any Giants fan tear up a little, but making the roster is just the start of the grind. For Fidone, the next chapter is about proving he can be more than just a survivor with a chip on his shoulder— he’s set to use the lessons he learned at Tight End U and prove he can be a legitimate NFL contributor.