Giants center John Michael Schmitz missing fourth straight practice — what it means

New York Giants starting center John Michael Schmitz is missing his fourth straight practice on Thursday due to a shoulder injury.

The second-year center missed four games in his rookie season due to an injury to the same shoulder. Coach Brian Daboll has said that the injuries are not the same.

Schmitz struggled as a rookie, with a lot of uncertainty around him on the Giants’ offensive line. He finished as the lowest-graded of 31 qualifying centers, per Pro Football Focus.

With Schmitz not practicing, the expected offensive line looks like this:

LT Andrew Thomas
LG Jon Runyan Jr.
C Greg Van Roten
RG Aaron Stinnie
RT Jermaine Eluemunor

Reports from several media on the scene are that Van Roten, who just signed on Tuesday, will begin at center and mix in at guard, probably on the right side. Runyan, who played exclusively on the right until Tuesday, will be primarily on the left.

With Evan Neal remaining on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, the offensive line is trending toward ending up this way:

LT Thomas
LG Runyan
C Schmitz
RG Van Roten/Stinnie (probably Van Roten)
RT Eluemunor

Van Roten does have center experience, and to this point in training camp the Giants seem to have been searching for a backup at that spot. Austin Schlottman and Jimmy Morrissey are the other backup centers.