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East Rutherford, NJ --**
The New York Giants today claimed two defensive players off waivers, both of whom were waived on Saturday as clubs reached the NFL's 53-man roster limit.

They are second-year defensive tackle Louis Nix III, previously of the Houston Texans, and fourth-year cornerback and return specialist Asa Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.

To make room on the roster, the Giants released veteran defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis and waived cornerback Mike Harris. Ellis, a former Jet, signed with the Giants as a free agent this past March, while Harris came over from the Lions' practice squad on Oct. 29, 2014.

Houston originally traded with Philadelphia to get back into the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft and selected Nix with the 83rdoverall pick. However, after being inactive for the first three weeks of his rookie season, Nix, 6-2 and 331 pounds, was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Sept. 24, 2014. He has yet to appear in an NFL game but did start all four of the Texans' preseason games this summer, recording four tackles.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Nix was a third-team All-America selection in 2012 at Notre Dame, where he started 30 of 34 games at nose guard. He notched 123 tackles (44 solo), 2.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 18 quarterback pressures.

Jackson, originally selected by the Ravens in the fifth round (169th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft, is coming off a preseason of highs and lows. In back-to-back games, he returned a kickoff 103 yards and a punt 53 yards. However, neither went for touchdowns while he also lost a fumble on separate punt returns in each of those games.

Jackson, 5-10 and 183 pounds, has played in 14 regular-season games with six career starts, recording 29 tackles and three passes defensed. He has also suited up for one postseason game, coming in the divisional round against Denver in Baltimore's Super Bowl XLVII championship run.
In 2014, Jackson recorded 27 tackles (22 solo) and blocked a field goal attempt before being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Dec. 16. He began the year on injured reserve/designated for return with a toe injury. Jackson will be reunited with Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who spent the previous two seasons in Baltimore as a senior defensive assistant (2013) and an assistant head coach and secondary coach (2014).

A native of Sacramento, Jackson played collegiately at Cal Poly, where he started 42 of 43 games and produced 199 total tackles and eight interceptions. His 307 interception return yards rank first in school history and were tops among all active FCS players when he completed his senior season.