Tag: Carter Coughlin

Giants’ John Michael Schmitz reveals his ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment

New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz discusses his “welcome to the NFL” moment and his appreciation for Carter Coughlin.

New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz had an up-and-down rookie season in 2023 and appears to be ready to take the next step to become one of the NFL’s top centers.

Schmitz started 13 games for Big Blue as a rookie and showed signs of his draft pedigree (he was taken 57th overall in Round 2 last year) and was named to Bucky Brooks’ 2023 All-Rookie Team.

In a recent interview with KSTP-TV in Minneapolis, where Schmitz played his college ball for the Gophers of Minnesota, he reflected on his “welcome to the NFL” moment from last year.

“I would say going against one of the best nose tackles in the NFL every single day at practice,” he said. “Dexter Lawrence — he’ll definitely make you a lot better real quick. He’s a great player (and) great person off the field as well. He just pushes you to be a better player.”

Schmitz isn’t the only Gopher on the Giants’ roster. Carter Coughlin, a reserve linebacker and special teams ace who was recently re-signed, has helped Schmitz along with his acclimation to the New York and the NFL.

“It’s great. I mean, we definitely just chit-chat about everything,” Schmitz said. “You go through your thought times and, obviously, me and him being pretty close with the Gophers. . . it’s nice to have someone like that, that I already have a bond with. Just someone to kind of lean on and ask those questions, like, ‘Hey, can you help me out here?’ Like, ‘What do I do?’ It’s nice to have a Gopher on the team.”

Meanwhile, Schmitz is already working hard this offseason and plans to arrive at organized team activities (OTAs) in regular season shape.

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Giants are re-signing LB Carter Coughlin

Linebacker Carter Coughlin has posted on social media that he is re-signing with the New York Giants.

Shortly after the 2023 regular season ended and special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, linebacker Carter Coughlin said he would not be returning to the New York Giants.

That statement was a bit premature.

On Monday, just hours into the NFL’s “legal tampering period,” Carter revealed in an Instagram post that the Giants were re-signing him.

The 26-year-old Coughlin was a seventh-round pick of the Giants in the 2020 NFL draft. He has appeared in 55 career games with two starts, primarily on special teams, and has recorded 41 tackles (31 solo, 2 for a loss), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, two QB hits and one sack.

In 2023, Coughlin earned a 59.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

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8 pending free agents the Giants should not re-sign

The New York Giants will have 30 free agents to deal with come March and at least eight of them should be allowed to walk.

The New York Giants have a lot of decisions and work to do this offseason after a disappointing 6-11 season.

They have a slew of players headed for free agency and will have to make decisions on whether to bring them back next season.

Here’s a quick list of players they should let walk.

Carter Coughlin, Cam Brown say they will not return to Giants

Cam Brown and Carter Coughlin said their goodbyes on Monday, indicating they will not be returning to the New York Giants in 2024.

As the New York Giants begin their end-of-season housecleaning, there are some subtle losses they will incur, ones that fans will have to admit will hurt the team going forward.

With the firing of special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and the resignation of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, two key defensive reserves/special team aces will be parting ways with Big Blue as well.

Carter Coughlin and Cam Brown both posted farewells on their social media accounts on Monday after their exit interviews with management.

Coughlin and Brown were the Giants’ most reliable and productive special teamers.

The Giants will have a lot of work to do this offseason.

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Giants injury report: Jason Pinnock continues to miss practice

New York Giants safety Jason Pinnock missed his second day of practice on Thursday and seems unlikely to play in Week 18 against Philly.

The New York Giants returned to the field on Thursday for their first full practice of the week after conducting a walkthrough on Wednesday.

For the second consecutive day, safety Jason Pinnock was sidelined due to injury and appears unlikely to play on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. If he doesn’t, he’ll be spelled by Dane Belton, who registered three takeaways in Week 17.

Belton also missed practice on Thursday, but his absence was unrelated to injury.

Meanwhile, rookie center John Michael Schmitz returned to practice on a limited basis and could play in the team’s season finale.

The Giants’ full Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: S Jason Pinnock (toe), S Dane Belton (not injury-related/personal)

Limited participant: OL John Michael Schmitz (lower leg), CB Detone Banks (shoulder), LB Carter Coughlin (shoulder), CB Darnay Holmes (foot), QB Tyrod Taylor (back)

Full participant: N/A

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Giants injury report: John Michael Schmitz, Jason Pinnock not practicing

New York Giants rookie center John Michael Schmitz and safety Jason Pinnock did not participate in the team’s walkthrough on Wednesday.

The New York Giants returned to the field on Wednesday ahead of a Week 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles — their regular season finale.

Similar to a week ago, the Giants opted to go with a Wednesday walkthrough as opposed to a full practice.

“We’re going to do similar to what we did last week, which will be more of a walkthrough,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters.

The bad news was that two players were unable to participate in the walkthrough, indicating they are unlikely to play on Sunday afternoon.

“Pinnock will not do the walkthrough and John Michael won’t do the walkthrough,” Daboll said. “It’s more of (Pinnock’s) toe than it is his foot so we’ll see how it goes this week.

“Lower leg, ankle, kind of got leg-whipped a little bit in the game so we’ll see where (Schmitz) is at. Sore today.”

The Giants’ full (projected) Wednesday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: OL John Michael Schmitz (lower leg), S Jason Pinnock (toe)

Limited participant: CB Detone Banks (shoulder), LB Carter Coughlin (shoulder), CB Darnay Holmes (foot), QB Tyrod Taylor (back)

Full participant: N/A

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Report: NFL rescinded Giants LB Carter Coughlin’s Week 12 fine

The NFL has reportedly rescinded a fine previously levied on New York Giants LB Carter Coughlin for a perfectly legal hit in Week 12.

Following the New York Giants’ Week 12 victory over the New England Patriots, linebacker Carter Coughlin was fined $5,764 by the league.

Coughlin had laid out Patriots return man Ty Montgomery with what seemed like a perfect tackle. It was not flagged on the field, but the NFL later determined otherwise, thus laying down the fine.

This was the hit:

The response from Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey was largely frustration. How else was Coughlin supposed to make that tackle? He didn’t go high, he didn’t go low, he didn’t lower his head. It was a textbook tackle that the NFL somehow decided was illegal.

The good news for Coughlin is that the NFL rescinded his fine after he appealed the decision.

The NFL admits it was wrong to fine Carter for a legal hit with rescinding the fine, but it still doesn’t feel like enough. The league has to do better by its players. Not only did this create unnecessary work for who knows how many NFL employees, but it created a rift between players and the league.

Referees are humans, too, and not infallible, so there are instances where the league will have to intervene and punish players for overly nasty hits. But this is taking it too far — the league does not need to intervene as much as they are.

The good news for Coughlin is that he doesn’t have to pay that silly fine now and he can fully focus on facing the Eagles on Monday.

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Giants injury report: Dexter Lawrence continues to miss practice

New York Giants NT Dexter Lawrence (hamstring) was a projected non-participant in practice on Friday and was joined by three others.

The New York Giants enjoyed an off day on Friday with their final practice scheduled for Saturday ahead of a Christmas Day game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

With most players away from team facilities, that meant little change in terms of injury status. However, the Giants still moved forward with a projected injury report.

Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence was a projected non-participant due to a hamstring issue that has plagued him for several weeks.

“He’s still working through his hamstring,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters this week.

Even with an extra day off this week, Sexy Dexy seems unlikely to suit up on Monday afternoon against the Eagles.

The Giants’ full (projected) Friday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: NT Dexter Lawrence (hamstring), DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (knee), OL Evan Neal (ankle), TE Lawrence Cager (groin)

Limited participant: DT A’Shawn Robinson (back), RB Matt Breida (hamstring), LB Carter Coughlin (neck), P Jamie Gillan (groin), S Xavier McKinney (illness)

Full participant: OL Justin Pugh (calf/neck), TE Darren Waller (hamstring), RB Gary Brightwell (hamstring), OL Matt Peart (shoulder)

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Giants injury report: Dexter Lawrence, Xavier McKinney not practicing

The New York Giants have released their official Thursday injury report.

The New York Giants were back on the practice field Thursday ahead of a scheduled day off and were down a starter.

Kicker Randy Bullock has been placed on season-ending injured reserve (IR) with a hamstring issue. He will be replaced by fellow kicker Cade York, who is currently on the practice squad, for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, all eyes were on the Giants’ trio of defensive tackles — Dexter Lawrence, A’Shawn Robinson, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches, all of whom are banged up.

Lawrence and Nunez-Roches continued to sit out while Robinson was limited.

The Giants’ full Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: NT Dexter Lawrence (hamstring), S Xavier McKinney (illness) DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (knee), OL Evan Neal (ankle), TE Lawrence Cager (groin)

Limited participant: DT A’Shawn Robinson (back), RB Matt Breida (hamstring), LB Carter Coughlin (neck), P Jamie Gillan (groin)

Full participant: OL Justin Pugh (calf/neck), TE Darren Waller (hamstring), RB Gary Brightwell (hamstring), OL Matt Peart (shoulder)

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Giants’ Thomas McGaughey questions NFL fine of Carter Coughlin

New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey couldn’t help but laugh when asked about the NFL’s fine of Carter Coughlin.

New York Giants linebacker Carter Coughlin laid the boom on New England Patriots return man Ty Montgomery in Week 12.

Carter absolutely lit Montgomery up with a textbook tackle that drew the celebration of his teammates. It also caught the eye of the Giants’ video and social media teams, who also praised the 26-year-old for a hit-stick tackle.

Coughlin was not flagged for the hit, which was the correct call by the game officials. However, the NFL didn’t agree and the league office sent a little FedEx package to Coughlin that included a $5,764 fine for unnecessary roughness.

Okay then.

The fine, which Coughlin has appealed, was so egregious that special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey couldn’t help but laugh when asked about it on Friday.

“No,” McGaughey laughed when asked if he had an explanation for the fine. “I mean, we all see the tape, we’ve all seen it. It is what it is, and you know, yeah. It is what it is. It’s amazing.”

McGaughey’s laugh was more out of frustration than any sort of comedic value. Coughlin did absolutely nothing wrong and the fine is the latest example of the NFL going completely overboard.

So, how can the Giants avoid this issue in the future? Should McGaughey teach his players to avoid that level of contact?

“That’s a slippery slope we go down. I mean — it’s a slippery slope,” McGaughey said. “You look at the tape, looks like it’s a textbook tackle, guy gets fined, it’s a slippery slope.”

It’s not just a slippery slope, it’s a joke. The NFL is making a mockery of itself with some of these fines and Coughlin’s might be the most ridiculous yet.

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