Giants may add a player or two to bolster offensive line
Giants head coach Joe Judge coaches against the Jets during the third quarter of an NFL preseason game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on Saturday, Aug 14, 2021. Credit: Brad Penner
The Giants’ offensive line remains a work in progress, in terms of both development and personnel.
A day after that group represented the only starters to participate in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Jets, and did so with mixed results, Joe Judge said there is a "good chance" the team adds a player or two to bolster the depth of the unit before the team heads to Cleveland for its joint practices against the Browns. They were so shorthanded on Saturday that when second-stringer Kyle Murphy left in the second quarter with an ankle injury, veteran Kenny Wiggins had to play most of the game.
"On the offensive line, you’ve got to have a lot of bodies to operate," Judge said. "There’s going to be a lot of guys that are available, so it’s our job to do our due diligence to make sure we know who’s out there and available in the league."
The influx of options will come as teams trim their rosters from 90 to 85 players by Tuesday. That should add to the list of players still currently unsigned, a group of young players who could be claimed and veterans who could be looking for another opportunity.
The Giants already bolstered the unit late last week when they signed veteran Ted Larsen, an interior lineman. Larsen was in unform on Saturday but since he had yet to take a rep in practice with the team Judge said he was there as a "break glass in case of emergency" player.
While the player or players they bring in will help with the Giants’ depth, it’s unlikely they find a starter. The Giants seem committed to going forward with the group they have on hand, all young players with three or fewer years of NFL experience, while supporting them with veterans from behind. Four of those five projected starters were on the field Saturday: Andrew Thomas, Nick Gates, Will Hernandez and Matt Peart. The fifth starter, Shane Lemiuex, is still recovering from a knee injury early in camp and was replaced on the opening drive by Wiggins.
Their debut together did little to assuage the grave concerns many Giants fans have regarding their role as key to the offensive performance this season. On the opening drive Wiggins allowed a quarterback hit and Peart allowed a sack.
"There were some good things, there were some bad things," Gates said on Sunday. "There’s dozens of things that we need to clean up and things we need to do better, but there's definitely some things we did a lot better than we did last year."
Judge agreed with that assessment and called their play "encouraging."
"There’s definitely some positives out there to build on," he said. "First-time action there is always enough to get a clean-up . . . But there were enough positives right there to really get a look in terms of what we can do to keep helping these guys and put them in the right position, and maybe some things you want to stay away from in the future in terms of play calling or snaps. This is the time of year you really find out about that."
And, apparently, the time when the Giants will be looking to add more players who can help a unit that will be heavily scrutinized all season long.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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