Tag: Ricky Seals-Jones

Giants training camp: 10 takeaways from Day 4

The New York Giants wrapped up their first week of training camp with practice No. 4 on Saturday, and here are 10 quick takeaways.

The New York Giants wrapped up their acclimation period with the fourth and final training came practice of the week on Saturday.

Things kicked off with head coach Brian Daboll conducting his routine pre-practice press conference. He focused primarily on recapping the first three days and breaking down how Saturday’s practice would be structured.

The players will have on off day on Sunday before returning on Monday morning for the first padded practice of camp.

Here are 10 quick takeaways from practice No. 4.

2022 Giants training camp preview: Tight ends

The New York Giants are thin at tight end which means there will be some key training camp battles and some tough cutdown day(s) decisions.

Last year, the New York Giants were stacked at tight end with Evan Engram, Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith. Things didn’t go so well for the trio as the Giants’ offense sputtered once again.

None of those players are on this year’s roster, a decision of the new front office. And a new offensive scheme will likely change the way Giant fans value the position going forward.

The Giants will have a new approach on offense under head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. The new tight ends coach is veteran offensive assistant Andy Bischoff.

Here is a quick preview of the unit heading into training camp.

7 Giants with the most to gain at training camp

As the official start to training camp looms, here’s a look at the seven New York Giants who stand to gain the most.

New York Giants rookies and select veterans will report for training camp on Tuesday, July 19. The remainder of the team will report on Tuesday, July 26 with the first practice getting underway on Wednesday, July 27.

It may be hard to believe but football season is just around the bend.

With the start of Giants camp now just a week away, here’s a quick look at seven players who stand the most to gain.

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.

Giants’ Ricky Seals-Jones looking to plant roots in New York

Newly signed Giants TE Ricky Seals-Jones says he loves New York — including the subways for some reason — and is looking to plant roots.

The New York Giants are filling out their roster with some under-the-radar players along the offensive line and now at tight end with free agent Ricky Seals-Jones.

Fantasy players are aware of Seals-Jones’ existence as he’s flashed over the past few seasons for teams such as Arizona and Washington. But the truth is, he’s basically been a second- and third-teamer who has spent time buried on the depth charts in Cleveland and Kansas City.

With the Giants, Seals-Jones is hoping to challenge for the starting tight end job (or one of them) as Big Blue reshuffles their offense under new head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

Seals-Jones spoke the Giants beat pool on Friday, staying that he “loves New York” despite wearing a Houston Astros cap for the interview. He is from Houston, by the way, and played his college ball at Texas A&M.

The Giants are aware of what Seals-Jones can do on the field. Last year, as a member of the Washington Commanders, he caught a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of their Week 2 game vs. the Giants.

The Giants like what Seals-Jones can bring to their offense as well. At 6-feet-5 and 247 pounds, he figures to be in the mix at tight end. And the Giants figure to use more than one tight end in many formations.

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Giants sign TE Ricky Seals-Jones: 5 things to know

The New York Giants have signed Ricky Seals-Jones, so here are five things to know about the team’s newest tight end.

The New York Giants have signed former Washington Commanders tight end Ricky Seals-Jones. The signing is not yet official but should be in a matter of days.

Seals-Jones joins a very thinned out group of Giants tight ends and may even be considered option No. 1 at the moment.

Here are five things to know about the newest Giant.

Giants agree to terms with ex-Commanders TE Ricky Seals-Jones

The New York Giants have agreed to terms with former Washington Commanders TE Ricky Seals-Jones.

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The tight end position for the New York Giants was looking very barren, so they decided to add one on Wednesday night.

The Giants have agreed to terms with Ricky Seals-Jones, reports Jordan Raanan of ESPN.

Seals-Jones played for the Washington Commanders in 2021 and hauled in 30 catches for 271 yards with two touchdowns. One of his touchdowns came back in Week 2 against his new team in the Giants.

Seals-Jones came into the league back in 2017 as an undrafted free agent who signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He spent two seasons down in the desert.

Seals-Jones then played the 2019 season with the Cleveland Browns and the 2020 season with the Kansas City Chiefs. For his career, he has 90 total catches for 1,044 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Seals-Jones joins Chris Myarick, Jake Hausmann and Rysen John as tight ends on the roster. Evan Engram left to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kyle Rudolph was released and Kaden Smith was waived.

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Taylor Heinicke had 2 of the NFL’s most improbable completions in 2021

Taylor Heinicke may not be Washington’s quarterback of the future, but he provided plenty of highlights in 2021.

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When Ryan Fitzpatrick went down in the second quarter of Washington’s Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, it opened the door for playoff hero Taylor Heinicke to audition at quarterback for the Commanders.

Heinicke had some good moments, such as his performances in wins over the Giants and Falcons early in the season. There were lows, too, such as a tendency to force the ball into coverage when things break down around him.

Heinicke also played well during Washington’s four-game winning streak midway through the season to get the Commanders back into playoff contention. However, it was short-lived, and while Heinicke proved he belonged in the NFL, it was also evident Washington would continue its desperate search for a quarterback.

But Heinicke did provide Washington fans with some exciting moments in an otherwise disappointing 2021 season. In the aforementioned win over the Giants in Week 2, Heinicke’s fourth-quarter performance led the Commanders to their first win.

In particular, his touchdown pass to tight end Ricky Seals-Jones with 4:33 remaining was one of the season’s highlights for Washington. In its 2021 season review, NFL’s Next Gen Stats ranked the pass as one of the most improbable completions of the season, specifically ranking the throw No. 13 with a completion probability of just 13.7%.

As spectacular as that play was, Next Gen Stats had another of Heinicke’s completions ranking even higher. His touchdown pass to Cam Sims against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14 ranked No. 6.

So, while it’s fair to say Washington needs a new quarterback, it’s also reasonable to say Heinicke did do some good things in 2021.

 

John Keim doesn’t expect Brandon Scherff to return

ESPN’s John Keim discusses free agency and quarterbacks.

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ESPN’s Washington Commanders insider John Keim appeared on Kevin Sheehan’s The Team 980 show Tuesday, stating he is not yet accustomed to writing Washington Commanders. But Keim did say (as I did last night) he saw the survey as actually a positive for the Commanders that 41% already like the name.

Bobby McCain, J.D. McKissic, DeAndre Carter and Joey Slye are free agents Washington would like to retain. Due to his injury history, don’t expect Brandon Scherff to come back at a high price tag. Keim feels there will be a market for McKissic, however, because he is very good out of the backfield. Ricky Seals-Jones and Cam Sims are also good depth guys they would like back. Adam Humphries is wanted; however, he is good enough he could sign elsewhere, being more selective of the quarterback.

Keim is certain Washington coaches will want to play Cole Holcomb and Jamin Davis outside, so they will pursue an inside linebacker in free agency or the draft. A good inside linebacker would really make an impact in this defense. Keim genuinely feels Davis can play on the outside better than he did inside.

Who might the Commanders cut this offseason? Landon Collins is simply not feasible unless they lower that cap hit. “I don’t think Landon Collins is going to get that (his current salary) on the open market,” expressed Keim. He played well enough at a hybrid, if he does go to another team, they will likely use him in a similar role.

Keim laughingly said of course they are going hard after a quarterback. Head coach Ron Rivera has stated so multiple times. Deshaun Watson certainly would draw interest from Washington but there are too many questions and his court cases could also go into May.

Understandably Keim insisted it doesn’t make sense why the Raiders’ new coach Josh McDaniel or Seattle would get rid of their starters Derek Carr and Russell Wilson, respectively. There is no clear path to the next quarterback in either case.

Would they be interested in Carson Wentz? Keim thinks so but was quick to add that Wentz is someone they would probably add with a QB draft choice as well.