Tag: Greg Van Roten

Giants starting O-line is finally together and on the field

For the first time all summer, the New York Giants’ projected starting offensive line is intact and have taken the field together.

Now that the New York Giants have trimmed their roster to the mandatory 53 players, their offensive line can get down the business of playing together and creating some cohesion.

On Tuesday at practice, the Giants’ projected starting offensive line took the field together for the first time this summer. Head coach Brian Daboll commemorated the moment by posing for a picture with the group.

“Yeah, I did,” Daboll laughed when asked if he really took a photo. “I took a picture of those guys in walk-through. The five of them out there doing their first drill together. Walk-through drill.”

The five players being left tackle Andrew Thomas, left guard Jon Runyan Jr., center John Michael Schmitz, right guard Greg Van Roten, and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor.

Tackle Evan Neal is also back on the field after being largely limited over the summer.

The line has been shuffled around this camp due to various injuries to Neal, Schmitz, and Runyan. In their places have some very competent backups in Aaron Stinnie, Yodny Cajuste, Joshua Ezeudu, Austin Schlottmann, and rookie Jake Kubas.

Thomas laughed when asked if he noticed the group was lining up together for the first time on Tuesday.

“I noticed, yeah,” said Thomas. “It was kind of funny. We joked on John Michael a little bit just because he’s young and missed some time. It’s great to have everybody back. We need these reps. I think we have seven or eight practices before the first game so we need every rep we can get.”

Thomas was asked if there was enough time for the group to come together and gain some traction before the season begins in 11 days.

“I think so. I think we have a good group,” he said. “A lot of veterans which I think that helps with the group. And then John Michael, it’s his second year in this system, so just making the MIKE points. I think he’s going to do a good job for us.”

Thomas and quarterback Daniel Jones will be the offensive captains this year. Neither is an extrovert but their backs are against the wall. It’s Thomas’ turn to take the leadership reins.

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Halfway through training camp, Giants’ offensive line still unsettled

The New York Giants are still shuffling players around along their offensive line after a major overhaul this past offseason.

New York Giants third-year general manager Joe Schoen has been on a quest to rebuild and establish the team’s offensive line. He’s done a lot of work and expended a load of resources in the process.

Now the question is, as we enter the third week of training camp, has Schoen’s efforts made any difference? The line is still in transition and the coaches are still trying to find the right mix.

From Dan Duggan of The Athletic:

With the Giants nearing the three-week mark of camp, questions still linger about the line. The five projected starters for the season opener have not taken a single practice rep together. One of the projected starters, Greg Van Roten, signed a week into camp.

Those five projected starters for new unit coach Carmen Bricillo are from left to right: Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, Jermaine Elumunor, and Evan Neal.

This summer the issue has been (as usual) injuries, except for left tackle Andrew Thomas. All of the other projected starters have been either banged up or playing out of position.

Neal, the right tackle, began the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list as he recovered from offseason ankle surgery. He had to be replaced at tackle by Eluemunor, who had to be replaced by Van Roten. Neal came off PUP this week and is slowly being ramped up, so that side of the line could be ready for the regular season.

Schmitz has another shoulder issue that has him working lightly until further notice. Van Roten and another veteran free agent — Austin Schlottmann — have been spelling Schmitz at center. He appears to be improving and could be ready for the season opener as well.

Runyan was signed to play right guard but is now on the left side next to Thomas. This week, he injured his shoulder, and his understudy, Jake Kubas, was held out also. Van Roten was called upon to fill in again.

“The whole flip-flopping thing is tough going from one side to the other, left to right,” Runyan said early on in camp before being flip-flopped back to the left side.

“So (you’re) trying to build some cohesion with whatever side you’re going on. It’s tough going from the left side to the right side. Your whole body has to change. Everything’s just reflected and your whole eyes and feet and hands, it’s all different. It’s nice being able to stick on one side.”

Eluemunor and Van Roten are veterans who have seen a lot of NFL snaps in their careers, many of them under Bricillo, who coached them most recently last year in Las Vegas with the Raiders.

Elumunor played right tackle in Las Vegas last year and Van Roten can play any of the three interior spots. That’s good news for the Giants, who can’t seem to keep Neal and Schmitz healthy.

Van Roten was an 11th-hour signing and may end up being the unit’s linchpin this year. As stated, he’s a plug-and-play vet who can fill in anywhere — especially at center.

“Carm has a lot of confidence in his ability to do that, and it’s good for him to get in, get all the calls,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Van Roten.

“That will help eventually when he gets to guard. But he’s done a good job of picking our stuff up in a short amount of time, and some of it there’s some similarity with it. But good leadership, good communication, and JMS is not in there. We’re going to put him in there right now and let him go.”

The Giants certainly have options along the line they have not had in years past but the stability is still an issue. They are hoping to have a clearer picture by training camp’s end.

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Greg Van Roten feels Giants were a ‘natural fit’ for him

Veteran guard Greg Van Roten is happy to be home and feels like the New York Giants were a “natural fit” for him.

It took several weeks to get done, but the New York Giants were finally able to sign veteran guard Greg Van Roten on Wednesday.

“They called a few weeks before training camp, said there was interest. We’re just trying to hammer out like the finer details and then reach an agreement,” Van Roten told reporters. “Nothing exciting, just kind of figuring out contract.”

For Van Roten, who was born in Rockville Centre, New York, he’s just happy to be home, having elected to play for the Giants over several other suitors.

“I’m happy to be back in the Northeast, close to home. Excited to be a part of this organization and add value where I can,” he said.

Location helped close the deal, but so did the presence of offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, who he was with last season as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. And his tackle mate during that time? Jermaine Eluemunor.

That familiarity made the Giants a natural fit.

“I had my best year of my career with Carm. So happy to be back around him. He’s a great like X’s and O’s coach, really does a good job of marrying like the run game with the pass game schematically,” Van Roten said. “So, you’re never at a disadvantage as an offensive lineman so it’s a good system to play in. He does a really good job communicating like the expectations. Obviously, him being here, Jermaine being here, familiarity, a little bit, with the system it just felt like a natural fit for me.”

Van Roten also has no real preference on where he plays. He’s seen time at left guard, right guard, and center throughout his career but expectations are that he’ll man the right guard spot, shifting Jon Runayn Jr. over to left guard.

“That’s why I have that value, is my versatility. It’s just one of those things where you could put me in anywhere and I can kind of figure it out. I think that’s a big reason why I’m here,” he said.

And don’t let his age (34) fool you. Van Roten believes he’s still got plenty of juice left in the tank.

“I got a few years left in me. We’ll see how this year goes and then hopefully stack a few more,” he said.

With Evan Neal seemingly a ways off from returning, Van Roten is poised to play a very important role for the Giants early this season.

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Giants sign OL Greg Van Roten, release CB Aaron Robinson

The New York Giants have signed veteran guard Greg Van Roten and released cornerback Aaron Robinson.

The New York Giants continued bolstering their offensive line on Tuesday, signing veteran guard Greg Van Roten.

The 34-year-old Van Roten is no stranger to the Giants, having played under offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo with the Las Vegas Raiders last season.

Van Roten, who was All-State at Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, originally signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Penn in 2012. A journeyman, he’s also made stops with the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.

The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Van Roten earned an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 75.3 in 2023, the highest grade of his career.

The addition of Van Roten could be an indicator that right tackle Evan Neal, who the Giants list as “day-to-day,” may not be close to returning. In his absence, Jermaine Eluemunor has seen action on the outside.

After confirming the signing, head coach Brian Daboll revealed that cornerback Aaron Robinson has been released in a corresponding move.

Robinson was a third-round pick of the Giants in the 2021 NFL draft but injuries have held him back. He missed much of his rookie season after starting the year on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, then had an emergency appendectomy in 2022 followed by a partially torn ACL and MCL that landed him on season-ending injured reserve and cost him the entirely of the 2023 season.

In total, Robinson appeared in 11 games (four starts) and recorded 32 tackles, one QB hit, and four passes defensed.

Linebacker Azeez Ojulari is the last player remaining from the Giants’ 2021 draft class.

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Giants host Greg Van Roten for visit, 5 others for workouts

The New York Giants visited with OL Greg Van Roten and worked out five, including a two-time All-Pro, on Tuesday in East Rutherford.

The New York Giants hosted a slew of free agents on Monday, including veteran guard Greg Van Roten, who was in town on a visit.

The 34-year-old Van Roten is no stranger to the Giants, having played under offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo with the Las Vegas Raiders last season.

Van Roten, who was All-State at Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, originally signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Penn in 2012. A journeyman, he’s also made stops with the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.

The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Van Roten earned an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 75.3 in 2023, the highest grade of his career.

The visit with Van Roten may be an indicator that right tackle Evan Neal, who saw decreased action during spring workouts, will start training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. That would mean Jermaine Eluemunor shifts to the outside.

In addition to visiting with Van Roten, the Giants also hosted quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, and wide receivers Jakeem Grant, T.J. Luther, Byron Pringle, and Lincoln Victor for workouts.

Of that group, Pringle and Grant are arguably the most noteworthy. Pringle had some solid seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and would provide experience as a return man. Grant, meanwhile, is a two-time Second Team All-Pro and one-time Pro Bowler for his work on special teams.

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Panthers great Greg Olsen goes viral for wild photo from Christian McCaffrey’s wedding

It seems as though Greg Olsen knows how to party.

Greg Olsen may be just as prolific of a wedding guest as he was a tight end.

The Carolina Panthers great was on hand for this past weekend’s union of former teammate and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and model/influencer Olivia Culpo. On Wednesday, Culpo posted some photos from the after-party—which, by the looks of the album, Olsen clearly enjoyed . . .

@oliviaculpo/Instagram

The shot of Olsen proceeded to go viral over on Twitter/X, giving us a few gems:

Olsen and McCaffrey shared a sideline for three seasons in Carolina. Their first together, in 2017, saw the Panthers go 11-5 to clinch a wild card berth. (That, sadly, is the last time the organization made a playoff appearance.)

But Olsen wasn’t the only familiar cat in attendance on Saturday. McCaffrey invited a handful of Panthers including Luke Kuechly, Jonathan Stewart, Ryan Kalil, JJ Jansen, Sam Darnold and Greg Van Roten.

Congrats, Christian and Olivia!

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Seahawks getting visit from veteran free agent G Greg Van Roten

The Seahawks are in the market for a guard… or two.

The Seahawks are in the market for a guard… or two. Last week general manager John Schneider told 710 Seattle that the team would be hosting a veteran offensive linemen or two, and earlier this week ESPN reported that the Seahawks were interested in free agent left guards Laken Tomlinson and Cody Whitehair.

Now we have reports of a meeting with yet another veteran free agent guard. According to Aaron Wilson, Greg Van Roten will be visiting today.

Van Roten (6-foot-3, 305 pounds) was originally undrafted out of Pennsylvania, but he’s gone on to a long career for a guard. All together he has appeared in 110 regular season games for five different teams, starting 71 of them.

Most recently Van Roten spent the 2023 season with the Raiders, where he put in over 1,000 snaps at right guard. PFF gave him a solid pass blocking grade (77.4) and a decent 68.5 run blocking grade for the year.

Now 34 years old, Van Roten is past his prime with the Panthers, but he should be relatively cheap in what’s been a wildly overpaid guard market this cycle. If he does sign, Van Roten would likely compete with second-year guard Anthony Bradford for the RG1 spot on the roster.

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9 Raiders free agents remain unsigned after first week

One week later and 9 Raiders free agents still unemployed

A great many departing Raiders found new homes over the past week. Some were re-signed to the team as well. You can all the team’s additions, retentions, and subtractions right here in our free agency tracker.

But not all of those who were a member of the Raiders a week ago have found a landing spot yet. Specifically these nine.

What Condition the Position is in: Assessing Raiders level of need at IOL ahead of free agency

What Condition the Position is in: Interior offensive line

With free agency under a month away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ interior offensive line position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.

Returning starters: Dylan Parham, ?, ?
Depth: Jordan Meredith, Ben Brown
Free Agents: Andre James, Greg Van Roten, Hroniss Grasu

All this season the trio in the middle was LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, and RG Greg Van Roten. With some less than stellar results.

Condition: Critical

The only interior starter from last season still under contract next season is Parham. He could stay at left guard or move to center. What their plans are for him could decide whether they bring back James or not.

Either way, they need to sign two interior linemen. That means either re-signing James and adding a guard or moving Parham to center and adding two guards. There is no way around addressing the interior line this offseason.

12 free agents Giants could target based on coaching hires

These 12 free agents could become free agent targets of the New York Giants based on their offseason coaching and coordinator hires.

The New York Giants significantly overhauled their coaching staff this offseason, changing two of their three coordinators while also switching out a multitude of assistant coaches.

Because of those changes, the team will need to readjust their personnel by way of free agency and the 2024 NFL draft in an effort to match talent with the new schemes.

As a reminder, here are the notable coaching changes:

  • Defensive coordinator, Shane Bowen
  • Special teams coordinator, Michael Ghobrial
  • Running backs coach, Joel Thomas
  • Offensive line coach, Carmen Bricillo
  • Tight ends coach, Tim Kelly

These new arrivals create an interesting dynamic headed into free agency. They are intimately familiar with several of the available players and have developed trust with them over the years.

While that doesn’t necessarily mean any or all of them will be signed by the Giants, there is likely to be some crossover.

Here is a look at 12 impending free agents the Giants could target based on the above coaching changes/hires.