Tag: Jon Halapio

Ex-Giant Jon Halapio signs to Broncos’ practice squad

Former New York Giants center Jon Halapio has been signed to the Denver Broncos’ practice squad.

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Former New York Giants center Jon Halapio, whom the team wanted to return here in 2020, has been signed to the Denver Broncos’ practice squad.

The Broncos officially announced the signing shortly after Halapio broke the news on Twitter.

Originally a sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft, Halapio was a bit of a journeyman before landing with the Giants in 2016. He spent time with the Boston Brawlers and Brooklyn Bolts of the Fall Experimental Football League, as well as the Broncos and Arizona Cardinals.

At the time he joined the Giants in 2016, Halapio was a member of the practice squad but found himself promoted to the active roster in 2017. He made his first career start in Week 12 of that season.

Following his promotion, Halaprio took over as the starting center, but serious injuries ended his year early in both 2018 and 2019.

Halapio briefly re-signed with the Giants earlier this year but was waived in September. He also previously had a workout with the Houston Texans.

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Report: Jon Halapio declines Giants’ practice squad offer

Veteran center Jon Halapio has declined the New York Giants’ offer to join their 16-man practice squad.

The New York Giants waived center Jon Halapio on Saturday with the intent on signing him to the 16-man practice squad once the waiver deadline had passed, but that will not happen.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that Halapio has declined the Giants’ practice squad invite and will instead seek a new opportunity elsewhere.

Originally a sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft, Halapio bounced around quite a bit before landing with the Giants in 2016. He spent time with the Boston Brawlers and Brooklyn Bolts of the Fall Experimental Football League, as well as the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals.

At the time he joined the Giants in 2016, Halapio was a member of the practice squad but found himself promoted to the active roster in 2017. He made his first career start in Week 12 of that season.

Following his promotion, Halaprio took over as the starting center, but serious injuries ended his year early in both 2018 and 2019.

Prior to re-singing with the Giants last week, Halapio had a workout with the Houston Texans.

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Ryan Connelly, Grant Haley among surprising Giants cuts

The New York Giants made several surprising cuts on Saturday, including LB Ryan Connelly and DB Grant Haley.

The New York Giants released their 2020 53-man roster on Saturday afternoon and there were few surprises. Several players many thought might be in the Giants’ plans were cut, most notably second-year linebacker Ryan Connelly.

Connelly, a fifth-round pick in last year’s NFL Draft out of Wisconsin, earned a starting role early on last year but suffered a torn ACL against Washington on September 29, underwent surgery and missed the rest of the season. He was held out of contact drills at training camp until this week, when he appeared to be 100% healthy.

Also waived on Saturday were: quarterbacks Alex Tanney and Cooper Rush, wide receivers Johnny Holton, Alex Bachman, Derrick Dillon, Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor, running back Tavien Feaster, tight ends Eric Tomlinson and Garrett Dickerson, offensive linemen Jon Halapio, Eric Smith, Tyler Haycraft and Kyle Murphy, defensive linemen Chris Slayton, Daylon Mack and Niko Lalos, linebacker Josiah Tauaefa, defensive backs Grant Haley, Montre Hartage (waived/injured), Chris Williamson, Brandon Williams, Dravon Askew-Henry, KeiVarae Russell, Jarren Williams and Prince Smith, Jr., and long snapper Carson Tinker.

All of those players, with the exception of Slayton and Williamson, came to the Giants as free agents. Slayton was seventh round pick in last year’s draft while Williamson was taken in the seventh round this year.

Linebacker David Mayo (knee) and rookie safety Xavier McKinney (foot) made the 53-man roster but are candidates for the injured reserve list, from which they would be eligible to return after missing a minimum of three games.

Mayo’s prognosis is he could be ready by Week 4, while McKinney won’t likely return before November.

Some of those players cut on Saturday will be coming back as part of the 16-man practice squad, which the Giants can begin forming at noon on Sunday.

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Report: Giants signing Jon Halapio, Johnny Holton

The New York Giants will sign center Jon Halapio and wide receiver Johnny Holton.

The New York Giants worked out several players in recent days and at least two of them will sign contracts with the team: center Jon Halapio and wide receiver Johnny Holton.

Art Stapleton of USA TODAY was the first to report on the transactions.

More to come…

Ex-Giant Jon Halapio works out for Texans

Former New York Giants center Jon Halapio worked out for the Houston Texans on Wednesday.

Former New York Giants starting center Jon Halapio reportedly had a tryout with the Houston Texans on Wednesday. This furthers the theory that his return to the Giants is not in the cards — for now.

Halapio was the Giants’ starting center coming out of the last two training camps. In 2018, he broke his leg in Week 2 and was lost for the season. After a rigorous rehab, he won his job back last summer and started in 15 games for the Giants. He underwent surgery for an Achilles injury and has been working his way back.

The original thought was that the Giants were interested in bringing Halapio back after general manager Dave Gettleman mentioned him as being part of the mix of players the team were considering at center.

That hasn’t happened. Spencer Pulley is the current starter with Nick Gates and rookie Shane Lemieux pushing him for the job in camp. Head coach Joe Judge called the competition between Pulley and Gates this week as “scratch even” this week.

As you can also see on the chart, former Giants linebacker Avery Moss met with the Miami Dolphins. Moss was a fifth-round pick of the Giants out of Youngstown State back in 2017. He never really got his footing with Big Blue and was part of the Giants’ final cuts last summer.

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2020 Giants training camp: Position battles to watch

As the New York Giants ready themselves for padded training camp practices, here are some key positional battles to watch.

Every summer brings NFL training camps and every training camp has their share of roster battles.

With a new coaching staff and a load of new faces to pit against some unproven old faces, the New York Giants’ camp will have quite a number of battles for key positions this year.

AP Photo/Roger Steinman

Offensive tackle

Nate Solder was going to have to prove that he was still left tackle timber this summer before he opted out for the season. So, left tackle was very much in play. Now, it’s their priority.

The Giants are hopeful that first round pick Andrew Thomas slides right in and starts from Day 1. That could still happen. He’ll have plenty of company, though. Third round pick Matt Peart will now be thrust into the mix for the left tackle spot as well.

Right tackle is even more wide open. The loser of the left tackle role will have to fend off veteran free agent Cam Fleming and the Giants’ everyman, Nick Gates. These are the two biggest question marks of the summer.

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2020 Giants training camp preview: Offensive line

Have the New York Giants finally solved their offensive line issues as they head into training camp here in 2020?

The New York Giants may or may not have solved their offensive line issues this offseason through the draft, free agency and a coaching change.

Then again, they may not have. Outside of two staples they have at the guard positions, the rest of the line is fluid at the moment, and with no preseason games and limited practice time in camp, they may not have time to put a cohesive group on the field.

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

What’s new

Joe Judge, the latest consigliere to Bill Belichick in New England takes over as head coach. He knows his life as a first-timer in this league will be difficult so he surrounded himself with a veteran staff, mainly offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who just came off a decade-long stint as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Garrett adroitly hired Marc Colombo, his offensive line coach in Dallas (where he coached three Pro Bowlers) to the same position here with the Giants. Colombo, a massive, intimidating lineman in his day, knows the ropes and will turn this unit into the band of tough guys Giant fans have been yearning for.

Here are the members of that band general manager Dave Gettleman hopes will make him proud:

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Nate Solder

With the salary cap getting pinched next year, Solder’s $20.5 million cap hit is untenable, so this is his swan song unless the Giants ink him long-term and tear up his current deal. Don’t count on that.

The former Patriot’s game is in decline, which is why the Giants used two of their top three draft picks this year on tackles. Solder is not guaranteed anything as camp nears, so he’ll have to show marked improvement if he is going to be at left tackle again this year.

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Giants’ offensive line ranked 20th by PFF

Pro Football Focus ranks the New York Giants’ offensive line 20th in the NFL, but believes there is some real upside to the unit.

A year ago at this time, Pro Football Focus ranked the New York Giants’ offensive line 18th overall in the NFL. This year, despite several key improvements, PFF has Big Blue tumbling a bit.

In their NFL offensive line rankings, which were released on Monday evening, PFF now has the Giants at 20th overall — a two-spot fall from 2019.

20. NEW YORK GIANTS

The Giants weren’t as bad as the perception last season, finishing 17th in our regular-season rankings, and the line is heading in the right direction.

Despite the ranking of 20th overall, PFF sees a light at the end of the tunnel for New York, especially at tackle where Andrew Thomas will step in and start immediately.

At right tackle, fourth overall pick Andrew Thomas steps in after Mike Remmers tied for 10th with 40 pressures allowed. Thomas was the highest-ranked tackle on the PFF draft board and was the only player to rank in the top five as both a pass and run blocker in the draft class. Thomas should be able to step in as a solid right tackle and could eventually play on the left side if New York moves on from Solder. Another player to keep an eye on is third-round tackle Matt Peart out of UConn, a classic developmental prospect who performed well in college but still has room to grow. He had the No. 6 overall grade in the draft class last year at 90.2 and he just started playing football in high school.

PFF is also sold on the Giants’ interior, where Kevin Zeitler and Will Hernandez are slated to start, but they are understandably uncertain about the center position.

Ultimately, despite the low ranking, PFF believes the Giants’ offensive line could play their way into the top half of the league as early as this year.

The Giants have some volatility up front heading into 2020, but with positive regression in a few areas — plus a boost from Thomas if he’s as polished as expected — they could sneak into the top half of offensive line units this season.

If Nate Solder can have a bounce-back season, there’s no telling how well this unit could play. The good news is that there’s actual optimism for the first time in nearly a decade.

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NFC scout offers optimistic take on Giants’ offensive line

An NFC scout recently offered a very optimistic take on the state of the New York Giants’ offensive line.

When Dave Gettleman took over as the New York Giants general manager in late 2017, he vowed a return to the dominating offensive lines of the past. The Giants had won four Super Bowls with a collection of “hog mollies” leading the way in the trenches.

Gettleman immediately sought to upgrade by signing left tackle Nate Solder in free agency and then drafted guard Will Hernandez in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The next offseason, he acquired guard Kevin Zeitler in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade with Cleveland.

This offseason, Gettleman continued his overhaul by using three of his first five draft picks on the offensive line (Andrew Thomas, Matthew Peart and Shane Lemieux), while also signing veteran swing tackle Cam Fleming in free agency.

That has led some critics to re-evaluate the status of the Giants’ line, which has been mired in the bottom half or bottom third of the league the past few years.

“In a short time, this has gone from a bottom-five offensive line that should rank in the top half of the league with a ceiling even higher due to the presence of (first-round pick Andrew) Thomas,” said a former NFC Scout as per SI.com. “In a short time this has gone from a bottom-five offensive line that should rank in the top half of the league with a ceiling even higher due to the presence of Thomas.”

There’s still a lot of tweaking to be done. Guards Hernandez and Zeitler are the only names cemented in going into training camp. The tackle positions are up for grabs with Thomas expected to displace Solder at left tackle at some point which would slide Solder over to the right side to compete with a slew of others, including Fleming, Peart and Nick Gates.

The center role is still very much in flux with Spencer Pulley the only experienced hand on the roster. The Giants intend to pit Lemieux and Gates against Pulley in camp along with last year’s starter, Jon Halapio, who is currently unsigned and rehabbing from an Achilles injury.

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Could Shane Lemieux be Giants’ hidden gem?

Could rookie offensive lineman Shane Lemieux turn out to be the New York Giants’ hidden gem in 2020 and beyond?

The NFL Draft is a crapshoot. That’s for certain, but in reality, it’s an opportunity for the smart teams to take advantage of the not-so-smart teams.

Players are always overdrafted and underdrafted and in watching how things unfold, we are always left scratch our heads about why some players were taken too early or too late.

Every year, teams walk away from the draft as if they’ve just completed some type of coup having selected players of great value in the later rounds.

In this year’s draft, each team has such a player — or two — that they are beaming about. Brett Sobleski of Bleacher Report complied a list of each team’s “surprise rookie gem” to look out for.

For the New York Giants, it’s Oregon guard Shane Lemieux, selected in the fifth round with the 150th overall pick in April’s draft.

Spencer Pulley is the New York Giants’ projected starting center, but he’s not guaranteed a spot despite Jon Halapio’s departure.

Incoming fifth-round pick Shane Lemieux could snag a starting role if he undergoes a smooth transition from guard.

“He’s a guy that’s going to have interior swing value,” Giants head coach Joe Judge said, per NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo. “We’re going to cross-train him guard and center. It’s going to be something he has been working on out at Oregon, and we’re going to keep on building with that, as well.”

Lemieux started 52 consecutive games at left guard for the Oregon Ducks. The transition might be difficult.

But the Giants wanted to revamp their offensive line and did so with multiple draft selections. Each will compete to play sooner rather than later.

As high as the Giants are on Lemieux, he will simply not be handed the job. There are other forces at play in East Rutherford.

The Giants are closely monitoring Jon Halapio’s rehab from his Achilles’ injury and if he can pass a physical may be re-signed. The team has also said publicly that Adam Gates, who has played both guard and tackle, will also be tried at center.

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