The Giants placed Thaddeus Dixon on season-ending injured reserve Thursday after the rookie cornerback tore an Achilles tendon during workouts a day earlier. New York also signed veteran defensive end Khalid Kareem to its 90-man roster and hosted free agent cornerback Nazeer Johnson for a visit the same day.

Dixon’s injury removes a player the Giants had hoped could fight for a back cornerback job and help on special teams before he ever got a real chance to settle in. The undrafted rookie had signed for $282,500 after the draft, a package that included a full season’s practice squad salary and a $35,000 signing bonus, after a pre-draft '30' visit with the team.

The loss matters because Dixon was not just a camp body. He came in with a defined path: back-end depth at corner and work on coverage units. Instead, the Giants are back to sorting the lower end of the roster while trying to preserve some stability before the season schedule comes into focus. Only Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa remain unsigned, another reminder that the roster picture is still unfinished.

Dixon’s college résumé suggested a player with some ball production. He spent two collegiate seasons at Washington and one at North Carolina, appearing in 34 college games with two interceptions and 22 passes defensed. That was enough to get him into the Giants’ conversation after the draft, but not enough to protect him from the kind of injury that can wipe out an entire rookie year before it begins.

Kareem brings the opposite profile: experience. He has played in 34 games over six NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons, giving the Giants another veteran option on the edge as they keep turning over the bottom of the roster. Johnson’s visit suggests the team is still checking every cornerback possibility it can find. For Dixon, the setback is absolute. For the Giants, the work goes on without him.