Tag: Korey Cunningham

Giants-Lions preseason Week 1: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The New York Giants lost their Week 1 preseason game against the Lions. Here are the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams.

The New York Giants opened their preseason with a 21-16 loss to the Detroit Lions on Friday night at Ford Field. The game featured solid defense play from Big Blue early followed by an especially ugly second half.

Depth issues along the offensive line are apparent but mixed in with all the negatives were quite a few positives. Chief among them was the play of safety Jason Pinnock, who played so well head coach Brian Daboll pulled him from the game early.

There’s a lot to break down and a lot to go over but before we look ahead, let’s look back. Here are the snap counts that contributed to the Giants’ loss.

Offensive snaps: 59
Defensive snaps: 72
Special teams snaps: 25

Korey Cunningham was the only player on the Giants team to take 100 percent of the snaps on Friday night and the tape isn’t going to look good. Like most of the offensive linemen outside of rookie center John Michael Schmitz, Cunningham put a lot of bad play on film.

Defensively, rookie nose tackle Jordon Riley took 60 percent of the snaps and unlike Cunningham, he put good play on film. It wasn’t perfect but the big-bodied Riley showed coaches he’s got some skills and with a little development, he might prove to be a diamond in the rough.

And then there’s the aforementioned Pinnock. On just five snaps he recorded an interception, a tackle for a loss and two passes defensed. Talk about production.

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Giants fall to Lions: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to the Lions, 21-16, on Friday and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

Editor’s note: Upon reviewing the game, we changed the entry for Deonte Banks, adding detail on what was a bang-bang play and difficult to read in real-time. Giants Wire writers disagreed (and still disagree) on what transpired.

The New York Giants opened the 2023 preseason on Friday night against the Detroit Lions and neither team played their key starters. There were a few spot starters on both sides but predominantly, the game featured depth players.

Accordingly, it was a rather ugly performance for each team. There was more bad than good, and neither coach is going to be particularly happy on Saturday morning.

Here are some winners, losers, and in-betweens from Fright night’s Giants’ victory/defeat.

Giants sign WR Marcus Johnson to active roster, two to practice squad

The New York Giants have signed WR Marcus Johnson to their 53-man roster and shuffled their practice squad, signing two and releasing one.

The New York Giants have signed wide receiver Marcus Johnson from their practice squad to the active roster.

The 6-foot-1, 204-pound Johnson had been an elevation in each of the past two weeks and went on to start both games. He recorded five receptions for 60 yards over that span, but also dropped one touchdown.

Before joining the Giants in September, Johnson had spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers.

The Giants still have one open spot remaining on their 53-man roster.

Additionally, the team signed offensive tackle Korey Cunningham and tight end Lawrence Cager to their practice squad.

Cunningham had spent the 2021 season with the Giants and was with them throughout the summer before his contract was terminated in late July due to a non-football injury. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Cager joins the Giants after being released by the New York Jets over the weekend.

In order to make room for both Cunningham and Cager, who is a rookie, the Giants released tight end Austin Allen from the reserve unit.

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Giants sign CB Gavin Heslop, release OL Korey Cunningham

The New York Giants have signed CB Gavin Heslop and terminated the contract of OL Korey Cunningham (non-football injury).

On Friday, the New York Giants made one last roster move ahead of next week’s training camp by signing cornerback Gavin Heslop.

The 24-year-old Heslop is a New York native. He was born in Yonkers, attended high school in White Plains and went to college at Stony Brook. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2020 NFL draft.

In three career games, Heslop has recorded one tackle. He’s taken most of his snaps on special teams but did log four defensive snaps a season ago. Unfortunately, that ended negatively as the cornerback suffered a broken fibula and tibia.

Heslop was a NYSSWA first-team All-New York State selection and first team All-Catholic High School Football League in high school.

In a corresponding roster move, the Giants terminated offensive lineman Korey Cunningham’s contract citing a non-football injury.

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2022 Giants training camp preview: Offensive line

The New York Giants’ offensive line looks significantly better on paper but there may still be some depth issues.

One of the key areas New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen wanted to address when he took the job this offseason was the offensive line.

The Giants’ offense has been pitiful the past few seasons and the line has taken the brunt of the blame from the critics. That may be about to change.

With a new head coach (Brian Daboll), new offensive coordinator (Mike Kafka) and a new offensive line coach in Bobby Johnson, the approach alone should change things for the better.

Here’s a quick rundown of how the line shapes up heading into training camp.

Giants’ Quincy Roche, Korey Cunningham exchange punches during OTAs

New York Giants OL Korey Cunningham and LB Quincy Roche exchanged punches during Thursday’s OTA practice.

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There is never a shortage of drama with the New York Giants, no matter the time of year or what is happening in the world, they find a way to make things interesting.

It could be a sudden slew of injuries, an offseason setback of an injured player, coaching upheaval, and any number of other events keep Giants fans and media on their toes. The events that occurred during Thursday’s OTAs are no exception.

Linebacker Quicny Roche and offensive lineman Korey Cunningham apparently got into it on the field. And some big blows were exchanged.

It’s unknown at this time what the cause of the interaction was or what disciplinary action will be taken. But Talkin’ Giants tweeted an incredibly appropriate photo after the fact.

Roche is entering his second year in the NFL, stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 245 pounds. In his first season with the Giants, he had 38 tackles, including 15 solo and 2.5 sacks, plus a forced fumble. Still, he’s likely no match for the fifth-year, 6-foot-6, 311-pound lineman out of Cincinnati.

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2022 Giants free agency: Contract details for new players

A breakdown of the contracts the New York Giants have handed out to free agents, as well as details of restructures and pay cuts.

The New York Giants and general manager Joe Schoen entered the new league year and free agency with very little money to spend. The idea was to clear upwards of $40 million in salary cap space while hunting for bargains on the open market.

Through a week and a half, the Giants have fared relatively well. They’ve been unable to trade either cornerback James Bradberry or running back Saquon Barkley, but they’ve found other ways to clear room.

New York has also added a number of new contracts, including multiple offensive linemen. But only one of them was a big-ish money signing.

Here’s a quick look at the basic contracts for all new signees, as well as some information on restructures and pay cuts.

Note: New details will be added as they become available.

Giants place Elerson Smith on injured reserve

The New York Giants have placed rookie edge rusher Elerson Smith on injured reserve and made several other transactions.

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The New York Giants already lead the league in games missed due to injury and in Week 18, they will pad that total.

On Wednesday, the Giants announced that rookie edge rusher Elerson Smith had been placed on injured reserve with a neck injury. That officially ends his season after just eight games.

Smith, a fourth-round pick last April, recorded eight tackles, one forced fumble and two QB hits in a very limited role.

Meanwhile, the Giants activated offensive tackle Korey Cunningham, defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence and Danny Shelton, and wide receiver Darius Slayton from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. They also restored linebacker Omari Cobb and defensive back Ka’dar Hollman to the practice squad from the COVID-19 list.

Finally, defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton has been placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 list.

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Giants place Matt Peart, Gary Brightwell on injured reserve

The New York Giants have placed OT Matt Peart and RB Gary Brightwell on injured reserve, and waived LB Trent Harris.

The number of players on injured reserve grew for the New York Giants on Thursday with the additions of offensive tackle Matt Peart and running back Gary Brightwell.

Peart suffered a torn ACL in a Week 16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The injury occurred early in the game, which he started in place of veteran Nate Solder, who was out due to COVID-19.

“One thing about Matt is he’s a really, really good team player and the guys really like him and respect the way he works and goes out there every day and prepares and challenges and competes,” head coach Joe Judge said earlier this week. “You hate seeing any player get hurt, you hate seeing guys who truly love the game and love their team being injured. One thing that we’re certain of is we know he’s going to get great medical attention and he’s going to get great attention to the rehab process and get him back on the field. He’s still a young player, he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Peart is expected to undergo surgery in short order and begin his extended rehab and recovery process.

The Giants also ended the rookie season of the aforementioned Brightwell, placing him on IR with a neck injury that was sustained earlier this month.

A sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Brightwell had appeared in 13 games this season, but rushed just once for four yards and caught one pass for six yards. Most of his time was spent on special teams where he recorded eight tackles (two solo).

Meanwhile, the Giants officially placed offensive tackle Korey Cunningham and wide receiver Darius Slayton on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and linebacker Omari Cobb on the practice squad/COVID-19 list. Right tackle Nate Solder (COVID-19) was also activated.

Finally, the team announced that linebacker Trent Harris has been waived.

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Giants’ Darius Slayton, two others test positive for COVID-19

The New York Giants have placed WR Darius Slayton and two others on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

The New York Giants continue to deal with a COVID-19 problem that has completely depleted their roster. And while they will get right tackle Nate Solder back on Thursday, they will lose three others.

The team revealed three new positives, including wide receiver Darius Slayton and offensive lineman Korey Cunningham.

Both Slayton and Cunningham have been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and are expected to miss a Week 17 game against the Chicago Bears.

Practice squad offensive lineman Omari Cobb has also tested positive for COVID-19. He’s been placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 list.

That leaves the Giants incredibly thin along the offensive line headed into Sunday’s game even with Solder returning. And they might be forced to start a new center as Billy Price remains away from the team dealing with a personal matter.

Asked about Price, both head coach Joe Judge and offensive line coach Rob Sale offered their prayers for Billy and his wife. They would not offer any further detail but the situation sounds dire and expectations are that Price will not rejoin the team this week.

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