Name all of the Giants who exceeded even the most optimistic expectations during the first half of the season.
The list starts with left tackle Andrew Thomas. It might end there, too.
So, there is no overstating the importance of Thomas’ likely return after a three-game absence. Thomas remains on injured reserve, but the Giants have until 4 p.m. Monday — about four hours before kickoff against the Buccaneers — to activate him.
“Coming off the bye, I got some time to get some reps in and I’m feeling pretty good,” Thomas said after Saturday’s practice. “Nothing right now [standing in the way of playing] in my mind.”
After a disappointing rookie season, Thomas has allowed zero sacks and just seven pressures on 201 pass-blocking snaps. He did not play against the Cowboys due to a left foot injury and returned for a half before his right ankle was rolled from behind in a “wrong place, wrong time” freak accident against the Rams.
“When you’re building, you don’t want to be off the field,” Thomas said. “They kept me very involved in the process as far as meetings, so I’m always in tune to what’s going on. Any calls, any checks, I know what’s going on.”
The challenge now is whether he can pick up at the dominant level he left off, especially against elite pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul.
“That’s the focus that any time I’m on the field: I’m dominating, I’m doing everything I can,” Thomas said. “That just comes with watching film … and making sure I don’t lose anything on the field with the reps I’ve gotten this week. Just making sure I get my technique back.”
The Giants ruled out S Logan Ryan (COVID-19), OLB Lorenzo Carter (illness, ankle), WR Sterling Shepard (quad) and special-teamer Nate Ebner (knee). For Ryan, the focus shifts to whether he will meet the NFL’s standard for an asymptomatic vaccinated player who received a positive COVID-19 test result to return (two consecutive negative test results separated by 24 hours) before Nov. 28 against the Eagles.
“He’s been in virtual meetings,” coach Joe Judge said. “He can’t be out here with us at the facility.”
RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), RB Devontae Booker (hip), TE Kaden Smith (knee) and FB Cullen Gillaspia (calf) were listed as questionable on the injury report. All were limited practice participants.
“[Barkley is] trending the right way and really progressing,” Judge said around 10:30 a.m. Saturday. “The next 48 hours will be big in terms of seeing how his body responds.”
The Buccaneers ruled out WR Antonio Brown (ankle), listed TE Rob Gronkowski (back), CB Dee Delaney (ankle/concussion) and DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (ankle) as questionable and DT Vita Vea (knee) as doubtful.
Ryan’s absence creates a potential roster loophole for the Giants to squeeze more out of OLB Trent Harris. The Giants are shorthanded without Carter and with rookie OLB Elerson Smith’s inexperience (zero career defensive snaps).
Harris played the past two games as a standard game-day elevation from the practice squad. Two is the limit, however, so the Giants would have to sign Harris to the 53-man roster to use him again — except that the rules allow for a third elevation as a designated COVID-19 replacement. That’s how the Giants elevated LB Benardrick McKinney three times before signing him earlier this week.
“We’re evaluating a lot of things based on different players’ health at different positions,” Judge said.
The Giants added a mobile basketball hoop outside the practice facility. It seems like good fun, but there’s always a reason behind Judge’s decisions. This one is specific to skill-position players taking off their gloves.
“You’re trying to teach them to use fine motor skills through cold weather,” Judge said. “When you have breaks during the day during lunch and in between meetings, you tell them to go out there.
“It’s really more about dribbling the basketball. If you tell them to just bounce the ball over and over and over, it gets boring. You throw a hoop in front of it, they’re going to dribble the ball, they’re going to train their hands, increase their fine motor skills and shoot it.”
The Giants added a mobile basketball hoop outside the practice facility. It seems like good fun, but there’s always a reason behind coach Joe Judge’s decisions. This one is specific to skill-position players taking off their gloves.
“You’re trying to teach them to use fine motor skills through cold weather,” Judge said. “When you have breaks during the day during lunch and in between meetings, you tell them to go out there.
“It’s really more about dribbling the basketball. If you tell them to just bounce the ball over and over and over, it gets boring. You throw a hoop in front of it, they’re going to dribble the ball, they’re going to train their hands, increase their fine motor skills and shoot it.”