Sometimes coaches and executives make roster cuts, and sometimes it’s the medical staff that has to do the cutting.

The Giants placed veterans cornerback Terrell Thomas (knee) and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers (blood clot) on season-ending injured reserve on Friday, and they are not eligible to be resurrected by the new temporary IR designation that the NFLPA approved this week.

The new ruling allows a player who had been on IR to return to practice in Week 6 and return to the field in Week 8, but there are some stipulations: Only one player per team can be chosen to return from IR; they must be designated as such when they’re moved to IR; and the player in question cannot have been placed on IR before Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Thomas missed the 2011 season after tearing his right ACL for the second time and subsequently aggravated that injury in training camp. After gathering multiple medical opinions, it was decided that there wasn’t a tear and he could begin rehab in lieu of surgery.

Thomas visited the doctor again on Wednesday, but no specific news from the visit has been given to the media.

Rogers, who coach Tom Coughlin said dropped 50 pounds from minicamp to training camp, was thought to be done for the year when he was originally diagnosed with a blood clot. The thinking was that Coumadin, the powerful blood thinner Rogers was prescribed, would prevent him from playing.

The medical staff tried to find a way around the problem, but apparently one did not present itself.

Cornerback Bruce Johnson was also moved to IR because of a shoulder injury. This is the third time in three years that Johnson has had his season ended by an injury.

In addition to moving the aforementioned three players to IR, the Giants made 19 other moves on Friday to reduce the roster size to 53 players.

In place of Thomas and Johnson, the Giants retained cornerbacks Corey Webster, Prince Amukamara, Jayron Hosley, Michael Coe and Justin Tryon.

The Giants kept defensive tackles Linval Joseph, Rocky Bernard, Markus Kuhn and Marvin Austin. Defensive tackle Dwayne Hendricks was cut. Austin currently has a back injury and would be a candidate to go on the new temporary IR if the team felt he would be out longer than six weeks.

Follow the Giants and Alex Raskin @CBSSportsNFLNYG and @AlexRaskinNYC.