NFL
Former Giants Long Snapper Zak DeOssie Throws Out First Pitch
AUG 16 – DEOSSIE SIGHTING – It’s not every day New York Giants fans get to see one of their favorites out in the wild.
On Thursday, those tuning in to the New York Mets vs. Oakland Athletics got the surprise of seeing former Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie throw out the first pitch.
New York actually had two ceremonial first pitches before the festivities, a 7-6 loss. The other, perhaps overshadowing DeOssie, was Haliey Welch (otherwise known as the Hawk Tuah girl).
While DeOssie’s toss didn’t go quite as viral – or draw nearly as much criticism – fans saw the Super Bowl champion don his Giants cap with a throwback Mets jersey on.
Fans can watch the pitch here.
AUG 14 – SECOND SAFETY – The New York Giants needed healthy bodies at safety after injuries to Jalen Mills, Gervarrius Owens, and Elijah Riley left the secondary short-handed.
Subsequently, they worked out safeties Raheem Layne and Jonathan Sutherland on Wednesday and ultimately signed the former.
Hours later, per Aaron Wilson, the Giants reached a deal with Sutherland, too.
While more so keeping spots warm for others, there’s a good chance the two appear in Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans.
While Layne is more of a rangy free safety by trade, Sutherland’s 25-rep bench press in the 2023 NFL Combine may earn him some box responsibilities this summer. He spent time there and at slot corner during the preseason last year (with the Seattle Seahawks).
Both safeties are longshots to make the roster.
AUG 14 – GIANTS SIGN SAFETY – The New York Giants have had a laundry list of injuries throughout training camp. Offensive linemen got off to late starts, quarterback Drew Lock exited the preseason game early, receiver Malik Nabers limped off the practice field … the list goes on and on.
Just about every position has been hit in the early going, including safety, where the Giants only have five healthy bodies.
As such, they spent part of Wednesday working out safeties Raheem Layne and Jonathan Sutherland. Ultimately, New York settled on Layne and signed him after the workout, per Dan Duggan.
Layne, a 2022 undrafted free agent, is more of a free safety by trade. As a depth piece with the Los Angeles Chargers, though, the bulk of his playing time has come on special teams.
After successfully making his way back from an October ACL tear, he’ll hope to earn himself a spot in New York’s plans, however minor his role may be. For now, he’s depth for the preseason contest against the Houston Texans.
AUG 14 – NO DOUBT NABERS – The New York Giants suffered an injury scare on Sunday when rookie receiver Malik Nabers limped off the field after taking off his shoes, reminiscent of a foot or ankle injury of some kind.
As it turns out, it was a minor ankle sprain for the No. 6 pick, nothing too serious, and nothing Giants fans need to be particularly concerned about.
On Tuesday, he was brief in his elaboration about his injury. Would he be ready for Week 1?
“No doubt,” he said, via Jordan Raanan. “No doubt.”
Nabers rejoined New York for practice but did not participate on Tuesday. While he may practice on Thursday before Saturday’s preseason contest, it is unlikely he plays.
The abundance of caution is justified. As long as he’s on the field for Week 1, fans will happily live without Nabers’ first professional catch.
AUG 12 – GIANTS SIGN NEW RB – If you saw smoke emerging from the New York Giants’ facilities on Monday, it may have been the anointing of a new training camp signing.
The Giants signed running back Lorenzo Lingard to the offseason roster.
The move comes just hours after waiving UFL standout Jacob Saylors, diminishing the notion that the Giants parted ways with the back because of the performance of other running backs in the preseason win over the Detroit Lions.
Lingard was most recently a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars and was undrafted after attending Miami, Florida, and Akron across six seasons.
At 25 years old, he’s played just about as much football as his peers in the RB room, despite his lack of NFL experience.
AUG 11 – SAYLORS WAIVED – The New York Giants had no shortage of roster moves on the final day of preseason Week 1.
Among the flurry of signings, activations, and returns to practice, the Giants waived running back Jacob Saylors.
Saylors was added to the offseason roster earlier this summer after a successful stint in the UFL.
It’s possible this cut is related to the strong play New York saw from its backs against the Detroit Lions. With four running backs locked into roster spots and performing well in camp, opportunities just weren’t going to be there for Saylors.
While certainly a setback, Saylors will hope to find another team with a better opportunity for playing time or a shot on the practice squad as the preseason rolls on.
AUG 11 – SCHMITZ BACK – The New York Giants got healthier on Sunday, activating offensive tackle Evan Neal off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List.
While that demanded an official roster move, New York’s second instance of good news did not. Center John Michael Schmitz is returning to practice.
Per Art Stapleton, head coach Brian Daboll revealed that Schmtiz would return to practice, though it’s unlikely he sees time in team drills right away. He’ll be doing individual drills to best ramp up while monitoring his shoulder injury that kept him out to this point.
While Schmitz is expected to start at center for New York this year, his spot shouldn’t be seen as iron clad. Like Neal, Schmitz struggled mightily in 2023, and after the signing of interior lineman Greg Van Roten, the Giants can feel more comfortable about their depth up front.
Van Roten will see time at guard, but his versatility could come in handy if Schmitz struggles at camp and into the season.
AUG 10 – RODGERS RAMP UP – The New York Giants played their first preseason game on Thursday, beginning their summer circuit that will end on Aug. 24 against the New York Jets.
While the Jets begin their preseason on Saturday, they’ll do so without quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He’s healthy, nearly a year removed from his Achilles tear, but New York is taking every precaution. However, the Jets generally like to play their starters in the final preseason game.
Recently, head coach Robert Saleh spoke about that possibility.
“We haven’t had final decisions yet at all with regards to the third game,” Saleh said, via SNY. “You guys know me, the third game is usually when we like to play our guys and depending on how today went, how Saturday goes, and next week’s work with the Panthers and the following week with the Giants, I’ll make that decision.”
On whether or not that meant there’s a chance he lets Rodgers play, Saleh was brief, but seemingly open-minded.
“Yeah.”
Last year, Rodgers played well against the Giants, including a moment of trash talk with defensive lineman Jihad Ward. New York will have to wait and see if some exhibition game revenge is in store.
AUG 9 – ROURKE OFF THE BOARD – On Thursday, the New York Giants beat the Detroit Lions 14-3 to win their preseason opener.
In the process, they temporarily lost backup quarterback Drew Lock, who started the exhibition festivities. The quarterback went down with an oblique strain and hip pointer (per Jordan Raanan). Missing anything more than a few weeks would be unexpected.
Nevertheless, that left Tommy DeVito and Daniel Jones as the only quarterbacks on the roster, and opened the door for a short-term free agent signing.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke, who was with the Giants earlier in camp, figured to be an option – at least for those of us not up to date on the whereabouts of free agent quarterbacks. As it turns out, Rourke signed with the Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 4.
New York waived Rourke to let him find a better opportunity elsewhere, though the Falcons don’t present as such on paper. With the Giants needing a warm body for practice this week and the upcoming preseason contest, it wouldn’t be too surprising if he made his way back. For now, though, he remains off the board, forcing the Giants to look elsewhere.
AUG 6 – COLOR RUSH CANCELED – The New York Giants are wearing their “Century Red” uniforms for Week 1’s season-opening festivities against the Minnesota Vikings.
It will come at a cost.
Teams are only allowed a certain number of uniforms, and the Giants will be wearing four different jerseys this year.
The beloved white color rush uniforms didn’t make the cut.
It’s unclear whether it’s a one-year hiatus in favor of the 100th anniversary jerseys or a more permanent pivot. But for the 2024 season, New York will go without arguably its best uniform. It was most recently worn in Week 6’s loss against the Buffalo Bills last season.
AUG 4 – ELI’S LATEST PASS – The city-wide discourse between New York Giants fans being split among the New York Mets and Yankees continued on Sunday when the New York Yankees helped the Giants celebrate their 100th anniversary.
Before their game against the Toronto Blue Jays, former Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
It may have sailed a little high, but Manning kept the velocity his older brother current in the later stages of his career.
You can watch the pitch here.
To commemorate the anniversary, New York also gave away Manning bobbleheads, with the quarterback in a Yankees uniform.
AUG 2 – JONESING FOR MADDEN – If you’re a fan of the New York Giants and the Madden NFL franchise, there’s a good chance you’ll dabble into franchise mode to take the reins of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.
But after quarterback Daniel Jones’ ratings were officially released, we have a feeling you might be simulating ahead to the NFL Draft.
EA Sports rolled out its quarterback overalls on Friday, and in doing so revealed that Jones would be a mere 71 overall, on a scale to 99.
With Jones’ mediocre physical tools – he is buoyed by speed (87) but will likely lack arm strength and accuracy attributes – a high overall can be hard to achieve. But at a 71, he’s tied for the 34th-best quarterback in the game.
That puts him on the same level as backup quarterback Desmond Ridder and rookies Bo Nix and J.J. McCarthy.
Other Giants passers include Drew Lock (64) and Tommy DeVito (61).
AUG 2 – WHO’S WILSON – On Thursday, the New York Giants made perhaps their weirdest move of the offseason.
According to Aaron Wilson, the Giants worked out former Washington State offensive lineman Jack Wilson.
Wilson was an undrafted free agent, but his story doesn’t stop there.
Wilson last appeared in a game in 2022, but barely saw much action at all. According to his school bio, the vast majority of snaps came on special teams – particularly blocking on field goals. That’s … about it. He didn’t play in the team’s bowl game that season, either, because he was playing basketball for the university. Spoiler alert, he didn’t get much playing time there as well.
How does a college athletics afterthought get the attention of an NFL organization? Being 6-foot-11, 338 pounds certainly helps.
Wilson is the longest of long shots and an incredible story. Perhaps New York could make something of his gargantuan frame, but it’s best to temper expectations until there’s a transaction next to his name.
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