Brian Daboll Mum on NY Giants Injuries, Roster Battle Results Ahead of Week 1 Opener
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll continued to be tight-lipped when it came to the questions on many Big Blue fans' minds, including injury updates and the “winners” of three key training camp battles.
From an injury perspective, the biggest question mark surrounds left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is still working his way back from a Lisfranc injury suffered last season.
Thomas, who spent the bulk of the summer on the PUP list, has been trying to work his way back into playing shape, but sounded unsure as to whether he’d be ready for Sunday’s regular-season opener at Washington when he spoke with reporters last week.
“Obviously, I want to be back, but if I don't feel comfortable being able to perform at the level I think I can, I don't think it makes sense for me to be out there,” Thomas said.
The challenge for Thomas has been distinguishing between “good soreness” associated with getting back into football shape and “bad soreness” associated with his still-healing foot.
If Thomas can’t play — and it seems like it would take a miracle at this point for him to be ready for Week 1 —the Giants will start James Hudson III at left tackle, as they have done all preseason.
“He's a guy I'm glad we signed,” Daboll said of Hudson. “He's done everything we've asked him to do, just like all the other guys have.
“Offensive line is five collective guys seeing it through the same set of eyes, or two tight ends, one tight end, whatever it may be. So those guys are doing everything they can do each day to be as productive as they can.”
Two other injuries of note that are worth monitoring for the Giants include cornerback Deonte Banks and tight end Theo Johnson, both of whom missed time with undisclosed injuries.
However, for those looking for a shred of hope in the injury situation, Daboll did say that everyone would take part in the team’s Monday walkthrough.
Daboll refused to offer any hints as to how some of the training camp battles that took center stage – QB2, RG1, and CB2 – were settled.
"Yeah, any roster decisions based on who's going to be in the backup or who this player is going to be, we'll have that out there on Sunday," he said.
However, by following what the Giants have done this summer, those questions might have already been answered.
Starting with quarterback, the backup to Russell Wilson will, in all likelihood, be Jameis Winston despite the rookie Jaxson Dart’s impressive summer.
However, it would not be a surprise if Daboll leaves himself some flexibility, where, depending on the circumstances, he has a choice between Winston or Dart, assuming Dart is not designated as the emergency quarterback.
For instance, if the Giants get into any early-season blowouts, Dart would likely get an opportunity to take some snaps, allowing him to continue progressing in his development. But if Wilson were to become unavailable in a tight game early in the season, Winston would probably have his number called.
New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal isn't beleived to have won the starting right guard spot in his battle with Greg Van Roten. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
At right guard, what started as a competition came to a quick resolution as Evan Neal, who worked on converting to guard after playing his first three seasons at tackle, likely didn’t progress enough to beat out incumbent Greg Van Roten.
Neal missed the preseason opener, which didn’t help his chances, nor did his performance in the games he did play.
Per Pro Football Focus, Neal posted a disappointing 47.1 run blocking grade, which was 15th out of 15 offensive linemen.
His pass-blocking grade was just as bad: 49.0, which ranked 12th out of 15 offensive linemen. And overall, Neal’s grade was 14th out of 15th offensive linemen for the Giants this summer.
The second starting cornerback seems to be the cloudiest of the three, but the best guess is that there will be a rotation between Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott.
Injuries muddied that competition somewhat, as both Flott and Banks missed time in the summer due to undisclosed injuries.
However, Banks is not destined to sit on the bench this year, as the Giants will have to decide whether to exercise his option for the following year.
That said, Flott, who all summer long was listed as “OR” with Banks on the team’s unofficial depth chart (the only position where that “or” designation was used), did more with his snaps than Banks did with his.
Flott, who gave the Giants 25 preseason snaps, finished with the best overall grade among the Giants’ cornerbacks (92.3), and it wasn’t even close (Paulson Adebo was the next closest Giant with a 70.2 grade).
Flott also posted one pass breakup to Banks’s zero (in 20 snaps), and did not allow a pass completion in two pass targets, whereas Banks gave up one. However, lest anyone think Banks had a bad start, he showed some solid coverage that he didn’t always necessarily display last season.
The Giants will be off on Tuesday and then return to the practice field on Wednesday to prepare for their Week 1 matchup against the Washington Commanders.
AFC Notes: J.K. Dobbins, Bo Nix, Broncos, Chargers
Broncos
Bo Nix is entering the second year of his career after his breakout rookie campaign in 2024. Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning is confident Nix is “made of the right stuff” to continue being a highly successful quarterback.
“Bo is made of the right stuff. He’s a little bit older, carries himself the right way. And all of it should help as he moves forward in his career,” Manning said, via Troy Renck of the Denver Post. “I am just happy that Bo is the established starter. For a number of years, they had quarterback competitions. That’s hard on the receivers, the coaches, the play-caller, and the quarterback. Now, they’ve got their guy.”
Manning thinks Nix showed talent beyond his years as a rookie.
“I just don’t see that as being a big factor for him. Rookie quarterbacks are supposed to struggle, and then the game slows down. But, it sure looked like it slowed down a lot for him last year,” Manning said. “Like with C.J. Stroud, Bo didn’t play like a rookie. … I believe experience is the best teacher, and he got great experience last year.”
Manning added that playing under Sean Payton for a second season should be beneficial for Nix.
“The continuity, more than anything else. There are times when guys go into their second year, and they are going on their third coordinator,” Manning said. “He has an experienced head coach in Sean, who is his play-caller. Having that same voice and verbiage is so critical. We expect Sean to be here for a long time, so Bo will use that to his advantage.”
Broncos
Broncos RB J.K. Dobbins had a resurgence in his career after missing 2022 with a knee injury and 2023 with a torn Achilles. His surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, said he grew a close relationship with Dobbins and praised him for his perseverance.
“I can’t say enough about him,” ElAttrache said, via Luca Evans of The Denver Post. “I mean, he’s the kind of guy that I would like to have as a friend forever. He’s that kind of person.”
ElAttrache pointed out that damaged ligaments can never return to their previous health, but Dobbins has worked hard on his rehab.
“You never want to expect they’re going to be 22 years old again,” ElAttrache said. “You can’t turn back the clock and go before, when he was that number one (running back) for the Ravens. But, having said that, his performance was still right there.”
Chargers
Chargers DC Jesse Minter still holds on to rejection letters from graduate assistant jobs that he applied to across the country, accumulating 98 in total. Minter said the rejections are a reminder to be grateful for where he is now.
“Because that’s just how I operate,” Minter said, via Daniel Popper of The Athletic. “It’s just that reminder of the joy that it is, the blessing that it is, the opportunity that you have, not to take it for granted and not to ever feel like you’ve arrived.”
Minter said he’s always tried to operate without an ego and build a culture of letting people know their value.
“A lot of coaches have crazy egos, and I think there’s a difference in being confident in yourself and sure of yourself, and then having an ego,” Minter said. “I’ve always tried really, really hard to not have an ego, to really try to build a situation where everybody feels like they have value, where everybody feels like they’re part of the success.”
- Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Chargers RB Najee Harris participated in three-straight practices last week and was cleared for contact on Friday.
