Tag: matt gono

Giants sign OT Eric Smith

The New York Giants have signed veteran offensive tackle Eric Smith, who was with the team in 2019.

Following the loss of Matt Gono and rookie Marcus McKethan, New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll acknowledged the team had serious depth concerns at offensive tackle.

“I think Joe (Schoen) and his staff — the scouting department — are going to look at every avenue to try to improve that situation. You obviously can’t, you don’t have a crystal ball when that stuff happens,” Daboll told reporters on Sunday.

“And it’s too bad, by the way, about Marcus. I spoke to him yesterday. For a young player to have a non-contact injury, it was tough. But he’s in good spirits. So, he’ll have to start rehabbing. But we’ll try to do whatever we need to do. Whatever it needs to do, we’re going to try to do.”

It didn’t take long for Schoen & Co. to act. They held a tryout for veteran offensive lineman Eric Smith following Sunday’s practice and intend to sign him.

The 26-year-old Smith originally signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2017. He later made stops with the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.

This will be Smith’s second stop with the Giants (2019).

The 6-foot-4, 308-pound Smith has appeared in four NFL games with one start. The most playing time he received came with the Giants in 2019 when he took 56 offensive snaps over a two-game span.

In order to clear room for Smith, the Giants terminated the contract of offensive lineman Matt Gono (neck), whose roster exemption had recently expired.

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Giants training camp: 10 takeaways from Day 9

The New York Giants completed training camp practice No. 9 on Sunday and here are 10 quick takeaways.

After a brief day off following Friday night’s Fan Fest scrimmage, the New York Giants were back on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Sunday.

Things kicked off with an early morning press conference featuring head coach Brian Daboll. He recapped the first two weeks of camp and gave an outlook on what’s ahead, including coordinator and assistant coach availability next week.

Here are 10 quick takeaways from practice No. 9 on Sunday.

Giants having a glaring need at swing tackle

With Matt Gono likely being forced into retirement, the New York Giants have a glaring and concerning need at swing tackle.

The New York Giants appear set at starting offensive tackle with Andrew Thomas and rookie Evan Neal, but there are still notable issues behind them.

Veteran Matt Gono was signed this offseason to play swing tackle for the Giants, but a lingering neck injury is expected to end his career. That leaves the team with Devery Hamilton, Garrett McGhin and Roy Mbaeteka as their remaining reserves.

Hamilton went undrafted in 2021 and McGhin this past April, while Mbaeteka is an international import still very much new to NFL football.

These depth issues have been especially obvious in practice.

Shane Lemeiux, who has taken snaps at guard and center this summer, has expressed a willingness to play tackle if needed. Rookie Josh Ezeudu has also taken snaps as a swing, but the team likely prefers that he remain inside where he is their primary reserve.

Since camp opened, the Giants have held multiple tryouts including three offensive tackles on Thursday. However, the search continues as none have been signed.

This is an issue that general manager Joe Schoen will have no choice but to address, so expect more workouts and tryouts in the coming days, as well as a likely addition or two.

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Report: Giants OL Matt Gono likely has career-ending neck injury

New York Giants OL Matt Gono, who was placed on the exempt/left squad list earlier this week, likely has a career-ending neck injury.

Earlier this week, the New York Giants placed offensive lineman Matt Gono on the exempt/left squad list. At the time, it was reported that Gono was dealing with an undisclosed injury and would visit a specialist to determine the severity.

Unfortunately for Gono and the Giants, the results were not positive.

Jordan Raanan of ESPN reports that Gono felt good earlier in camp but that his surgically repaired neck began hurting as the physicality in practice ramped up. It’s likely that the issue is career-ending.

The Giants signed the 26-year-old Gono after he was released by the Atlanta Falcons this past January. He had missed the 2021 season with the aforementioned neck injury.

Gono was originally signed by the Falcons as an undrafted free agent out of Wesley in 2018 and played in 21 games for Atlanta over two seasons (2019 and 2020), starting four.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Gono was born in Liberia and played his high school ball at Cinnaminson in Burlington County, New Jersey.

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Giants place OL Matt Gono on exempt/left squad list

The New York Giants have placed offensive lineman Matt Gono on the exempt/left squad list.

New York Giants offensive lineman Matt Gono was among those not practicing on Wednesday and now we know why.

As the end of the league day arrived, the Giants placed Gono on the exempt/left squad list.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that Gono left the Giants due to an undisclosed medical issue.

The Giants signed the 26-year-old Gono after he was cut by the Atlanta Falcons in January. He had missed the 2021 season with a neck injury.

Gono was originally signed by the Falcons as an undrafted free agent out of Wesley in 2018 and played in 21 games for Atlanta over two seasons (2019 and 2020), starting four.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Gono was born in Liberia and played his high school ball at Cinnaminson in Burlington County, New Jersey.

Gono’s departure comes one year after several other players left the Giants or retired during training camp. However, those decision came under general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge.

With Gono now out in East Rutherford, the Giants have one open spot on their 90-man roster but it remains possible that the veteran returns.

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Giants training camp: 10 takeaways from Day 7

The New York Giants wrapped up training camp practice No. 7 on Wednesday, and here are 10 quick takeaways.

The New York Giants returned to the field on Wednesday morning for their final practice ahead of Friday night’s “Fan Fest,” which will feature the Blue & White scrimmage game.

Head coach Brian Daboll once again took the podium to kick things off — a daily press conference he recently referred to as “Groundhog Day.” He recapped the prior today and outlined how the upcoming practice would be structured.

Here are 10 takeaways from Day 7 of training camp practice.

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 suddenly have quality and volume along offensive line

The New York Giants entered the offseason in desperate need of offensive linemen and now have both quality and depth.

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New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen knew coming in the door this past winter that he had a lot of work ahead of him when it came to the offensive line.

Several months and nearly a dozen personnel moves later, Schoen has addressed the Giants’ most glaring issue with both quantity and quality. The team now has loads of options along the offensive line and it should be markedly improved in 2022.

The process began with just one spot on the line chiseled in stone — left tackle — where former first round pick Andrew Thomas has developed into an asset. The other four spots were wide open after the team shed themselves of some underachieving players, while others remain on the outside looking in as they rehab from injuries.

The Giants’ depth chart was scant: Shane Lemieux, Nick Gates, Matt Peart, Ben Bredeson, Wes Martin, Korey Cunningham and Devery Hamilton.

Lemieux, Gates and Peart are all still in the throes of coming back from serious injuries. The others were brought in as replacements on the fly.

Schoen went out shopping in the low rent district and managed to pull in veteran free agents Mark Glowinski, Max Garcia, Jamil Douglas, Matt Gono and Jon Feliciano. Then, he signed the massive Roy Mbaeteka out of the NFL’s international program.

Right there he could have stopped. They could make a serviceable line out of those players but Schoen still had the draft head of him.

In the draft, Schoen got an early Christmas present when Alabama tackle Evan Neal fell into his lap at No. 7 overall on Thursday night. Neal will start Day 1 at right tackle and gives the Giants an enviable pair of bookends along with Thomas.

Later in the draft, Schoen added two North Carolina linemen in Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan. Ezeudu is noted for his versatility at both guard and tackle and McKethan is a 6-foot-7, 340-pound guard who just overwhelms defenders with his size and strength.

Now comes the hard part. Getting a starting five out of all of this volume. We know Thomas and Neal will be the tackles but who will be the other seven (or eight) who will fill out the roster.

“We’ll see once we get pads on and things like that,” head coach Brian Daboll said after the draft. “I know the guys are hard working. They are smart. They show some toughness when you watch them on tape. The people that we’ve had in the building are dependable. It’s been good to go into meetings with (offensive line coaches) Bobby (Johnson) and Tony (Sparano) and those guys. They are eager.

“Again, let’s not make it more than it is. Your job is to protect the inside part of the pocket and the width of the pocket and get moving in the running game, but that position you need five guys operating as one unit. And that is what will be really important.

“You’ll see. I know I will get a lot of questions on it once we get out in OTAs, and I’ll tell you right now, there are going to be a lot of guys mixing and matching. You can write the lineup down each day, but it’s going to change from day to day.”

With Gates’ future still uncertain, the Giants will use Feliciano at center. Glowinski was inked to a three-year deal so we expect him to be one of the starting guards. The other guard position is wide open. You can expect Lemieux, if healthy, to get a shot as well as Garcia and Douglas. You can add Ezeudu to that mix as well.

It is a refreshing change for the Giants now that their weakest unit has been turned into a major strength.

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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 assign numbers to newly signed free agents

The New York Giants have begun to assign (potentially temporary) jersey numbers to their newly signed free agents.

The first wave of free agency has officially come and gone in the NFL, and to no one’s surprise, the salary cap-crippled New York Giants were very calculated with their moves.

There were no big-splash signings, but the team did focus a lot of their early attention on quality veteran offensive linemen. They also added a few bodies to the quarterback room and signed some depth at wide receiver.

Other signings were also made, but nothing necessarily worth writing home about.

What will interest fans however, are the new jersey numbers being assigned to some of the incoming free agents. But we want to remind everyone before they rush out and buy a jersey: these numbers are potentially temporary and subject to change.

Not all jersey numbers have been assigned yet, either. We will continue to update this post as the Giants work to hand out the digits.