Tag: Austin Schlottmann

Giants place Austin Schlottmann on IR, add Jakob Johnson to 53-man roster

The New York Giants have placed backup center Austin Schlottmann (leg) on IR and signed FB Jakob Johnson to the 53-man roster.

The New York Giants were plagued with injuries along the offensive line in 2023 and things have not gotten off to an encouraging start here in 2024.

On Thursday, just ahead of their final practice of the week, head coach Brian Daboll revealed that offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann, the team’s backup center, has been placed on injured reserve (IR) after sustaining a leg injury on Wednesday.

Daboll did not reveal the exact nature of Schlottmann’s injury but suggested it may be long-term and that the veteran is likely out for more than four weeks.

With an open spot on the 53-man roster, the Giants elevated fullback/tight end Jakob Johnson.

Johnson was signed late in training camp and waived as a part of final cuts before being signed to the practice squad. It was expected that he’d be a weekly elevation until a spot on the main roster became available.

That happened sooner than the Giants would have liked.

Filling Johnson’s spot on the practice squad will be 27-year-old cornerback Duke Shelley.

A sixth-round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 2019 NFL draft, Shelley has been somewhat of a journeyman, also making stops with the Minnesota Vikings (two stints), Las Vegas Raiders, and Los Angeles Rams.

In 52 games (11 starts), Shelley has recorded 92 tackles (69 solo), one fumble recovery, 14 passes defensed, and one interception.

In 2022, Shelley earned a career-high Pro Football Focus grade of 81.5.

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Giants’ Josh Ezeudu carted off, 3 others injured during Friday’s practice

It was a rough Friday in East Rutherford as New York Giants OL Josh Ezeudu was carted off, three others were injured and two more got sick.

It was a scorcher on Friday in East Rutherford with the heat index soaring above 100, but that didn’t stop the New York Giants, who adorned full pads for the third time this summer.

That combination yielded unfortunate results as offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu was carted off the field toward the end of practice.

Ezeudu was seen limping before the cart came out to pick him up but given the heat and dew point, it’s possible he was just cramping up.

The heat also got to center Austin Schlottmann, who briefly left the field while vomiting, as well as wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton. It was that kind of day.

Meanwhile, three other Giants also went down with injuries, including tight end Jack Stoll, who appeared to suffer a knee injury. He was joined on the sideline by defensive tackle D.J. Davidson, both of whom were attended to by trainers and Ronnie Barnes.

Finally, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie also suffered an injury to his lower back or ribs after getting hit by Dyontae Johnson near the sideline.

McKenzie eventually got up and walked off the field but he was clearly in a significant amount of pain.

The Giants did not offer immediate updates on any of the players.

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Giants signing guards Austin Schlottmann, Aaron Stinnie

The New York Giants have agreed to terms with offensive linemen Austin Schlottmann and Aaron Stinnie.

The New York Giants lost offensive lineman Ben Bredeson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday but promptly rebounded by agreeing to terms with guards Aaron Stinnie and Auston Schlottmann.

Stinnie and Schlottmann were both signed as undrafted free agents in 2018.

Stinnie attended James Madison University and has played for the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including as a member of the Bucs’ 2020 Super Bowl Championship team. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just two sacks on 442 pass block snaps last season.

Schlottman attended Texas Christian University and has suited up for the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. A versatile player who has lined up at right guard, center and left guard, Pro Football Focus indicates he has never allowed more than one sack in a season. His ability to line up in multiple spots will certainly come in handy in 2024.

Having some veterans along the offensive line will hopefully help stabilize and solidify the protective shield around Daniel Jones.

Stinnie and Schlottmann may have gone undrafted, but both are welcome additions to an offense that needs some serious help.

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Giants sign C Austin Schlottmann to two-year deal

Former Minnesota Vikings center Austin Schlottmann signs a two-year deal with the New York Giants.

The Minnesota Vikings lost another player to free agency, this time on the offensive side of the football.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the New York Giants have signed center Austin Schlottmann to a two-year contract. Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed yet, but if the average annual is above $1.79 million, he will qualify for the compensatory formula, helping the Vikings get potentially two third-round compensatory selections.

With Garrett Bradbury injured, Schlottmann started in four games for the Vikings amassing an overall grade of 62.6 and an impressive pass blocking grade of 72.3.

Schlottmann is set to be the backup of John Michael Schmitz with a chance to potentially start if they kick Schmitz to guard.

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State of the interior offensive line: The Real Forno Show

The Minnesota Vikings have some continuity on the interior offensive line. We discuss what that looks like on The Real Forno Show.

As we continue to work through the Minnesota Vikings roster for the 2023 season, the interior offensive line offers a lot of intrigue.

Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram are back together for the second-consecutive season and that kind of continuity is extremely valuable on the offensive line.

Last season, Cleveland and Ingram started all 18 games with Bradbury missing five due to a back injury that was aggravated by a fender bender.

After the starters, the group of reserves has some intrigue. Austin Schlottmann is coming off of a broken ankle and Chris Reed struggled with the transition to center. Josh Sokol is entering his second season and UDFA Alan Ali offers a versatile interior player with really good size.

What should we expect from the interior offensive line group? Can they improve from last season? How will Ingram grow from his oftentimes brutal 2022?

All of that and more on the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, airing Monday and Wednesday nights at 6 pm central on the Vikings 1st & SKOL YouTube channel.

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Vikings state of the roster: Interior offensive line

Can the Minnesota Vikings see improvement from Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram in 2023?

The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle.

We are currently writing player profiles on each Minnesota Viking on the roster with projections for what their 2023 season could look like. How things look projecting forward is where the real intrigue lies.

Leading up to training camp, we will be looking at each position from a more in-depth perspective. Today, we will be looking at the interior offensive line.

65 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 65

From Austin Schlottmann to Jerry Huth and everyone in between, we take a look at everyone who has worn No. 65 for the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 65 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.

From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players that have worn that specific jersey number.

Offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann is currently wearing the number for the Vikings. Before him, Pat Elflein and John Sullivan wore the number for an extended period.

With 65 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 65 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

1 veteran player on roster bubble at each position group for the Vikings

We’re looking at one veteran player on the roster bubble for the Minnesota Vikings ahead of training camp

The Minnesota Vikings are set to kick off training camp with the rookies set to report on Sunday, July 23rd and veterans on Tuesday, July 25th. With training camp brings a lot of positional battles.

Throughout training camp, there will be dozens of players fighting to take a roster spot from a veteran and some of them will succeed.

We took a look at each position and highlighted one veteran that is on the roster bubble.

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Vikings 90-man roster player profile: C Austin Schlottmann

After breaking his ankle in week 17 last season, can Austin Schlottmann keep the backup center spot?

Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.

As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.

Grading the Vikings free agency moves after the first week

The Minnesota Vikings have made multiple signings since the beginning of free agency. @TheRealForno graded each signing the Vikings made.

We are eight days into the free agency period and the Minnesota Vikings have been plenty busy in both acquiring and retaining talent.

Despite entering the offseason nearly $24 million over the salary cap, the Vikings made multiple moves by releasing stalwart players like Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks. The corresponding moves that they made will help determine where the Vikings go moving forward.

After the first eight days, the Vikings have made multiple moves. Here is how I have graded each of those moves.