New York Giants training camp, Day 1 takeaways: Of course Jermaine Eluemunor got hurt

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants held their first practice of 2024 training camp Wednesday at Quest Diagnostics Training Centeron a dark, drizzly, but warm morning. Here are some of the takeaways.

Eluemunor injury clouds day

Yes, injury struck the Giants on the first day. And yes, of course, it was to the revamped offensive line. Further, it was of course to the offensive lineman we found out in ‘Hard Knocks’ that the Giants coveted most in free agency.

Jermaine Eluemunor.

We began Wednesday by learning that, with Evan Neal on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list that Eluemunor would move from the left guard spot he occupied in the spring to right tackle.

GM Joe Schoen said before practice that Neal, still unable to practice after offseason ankle surgery, was “not far off” from returning. Neal worked on the side with trainers. He still appeared to be limping as he left the field following practice.

Coach Brian Daboll said Eluemunor would be at right tackle “for however long it takes Evan to get back.”

Daboll said the Giants would “revisit the situation” once Neal was able to practice.

“I’d say it’s day by day. He’s [Eluemunor] going to go in there,” Daboll said. “If he plays well, he keeps playing well. We’ll see. We’ll revisit it when Evan gets healthy. I don’t want to make a decision the first day of training camp.”

Eluemunor played right tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders the past two seasons. He worked all spring at left guard. The belief has always been that the Giants would not move Eluemunor to right tackle unless they were ready to give up on the idea that Neal would be able to handle the role.

It appeared that time had come on Wednesday. Eluemunor moved to right tackle with veteran Aaron Stinnie taking over at left guard.

What now? First, the Giants will hope that Eluemunor’s injury isn’t serious. It didn’t look good as he stayed down on the field for a considerable amount of time and then left the field holding his left side.

The Giants signed former Detroit Lions backup tackle Matt Nelson in the offseason, but with Neal on PUP and Eluemunor sidelined Josh Ezeudu took the remaining first-team reps at right tackle. Nelson, who did not participate in spring practices, took some third-team reps at left tackle.

So, one day into a training camp in which the Giants hoped to settle an offensive line that spent almost the entire 2023 season in flux, there are once again questions about how the line will align to begin the 2024 season.

“Hopefully he’s OK,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said of Eluemunor.

“You always prefer to have everybody out there because you definitely need continuity, but the reality of this business is guys go down and we saw that last year. Hopefully it’s not that bad, but guys deal with injuries during the year and the next guy has to be ready to step up.”

As a side note, veteran guard Greg Van Roten, who visited the Giants on Monday, has not yet signed. If and when he does, perhaps he competes with Stinnie for the left guard job.

One other thought: Could the Neal and Eluemunor news lead the Giants to turn back to Tyre Phillips, who remains unsigned as he recovers from a torn quad suffered at the end of last season?

Daniel Jones takes the field

The Giants’ quarterback did 11-on-11 for the first time since tearing his ACL Week 9 of last season.

“I think we’ll take it as we go. He’s getting all the reps today,” Daboll said before practice. “He’ll get them with the ones every day. If we need to pull him back for whatever reason, maintenance, then we’ll talk about that after every practice. Right now he will be in there every snap that the ones are in.”

Jones wasn’t incredibly sharp on Wednesday, perhaps understandable as he faced pass rushers for the first time since his injury. By my unofficial count, he was 8 of 13 passing with a pass interference penalty called on another incompletion. He also had to move out of the pocket two or three times and did not appear to have any hesitation doing so eight months after surgery.

“I thought for the most part it went well,” Jones said. “A couple plays here and there, but for the most part we kept the ball moving forward and stayed out of negative plays. So, first day, we’re all kind of getting our feet underneath each other, underneath us, so build on it and go from there.”

“These are professional athletes”

Schoen wasn’t having it when asked if the reality that the Giants were willing to trade up to No. 3 for a quarterback would have an adverse effect on Jones.

“These are professional athletes. I think this extra motivation or quotes or bulletin board material, I’m not necessarily buying into that all the time,” Schoen said. “I think these guys have gotten where they’ve gotten in their careers as athletes because they’re competitive, they’re self-motivated, they’re driven.

“I think Daniel is all of those things. I think of all the guys on the team, he probably does the best job tuning out the noise. I think he’s wired for the position in terms of those traits that I just said, and tuning out the noise.

“He’s been busting his tail and doing everything he can do to get back on the football field. He’s a great teammate. He’s a leader. I’m excited to how things go this year if he can stay healthy … I’m rooting for the kid.”

Jones’ reaction?

“Obviously, you’re not excited about it, but they have a job to do, I got a job to do,” Jones said. “So it is what it is and we’re at this point now, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to have and excited to play football.”

Play-calling decision

Daboll still won’t admit that he will call offensive plays this season. It is, though, pretty obvious that is what he is going to do since he has called them continually since practice began in the spring.

“Still working through that, but again, I’ll be doing the same thing that I did in spring,” Daboll said. “I want to go through the whole process of a training camp and a preseason game and things like that, but I’ll be signaling into the quarterbacks with the walkie talkie.”

Where’d he go?

Daboll has lost so much weight, including a good amount since the last time I saw him during mandatory minicamp, that I barely recognized him when he strode into the press briefing Wednesday morning.

Asked about the weight loss, Daboll told a quick story. Honestly, I don’t understand all of it, but here it is, anyway:

“I go to this carnival every year back in Buffalo, a town called West Seneca where I grew up. I’ve got 30, 40 friends. They kind of know my weight history, where it goes up and goes down,” Daboll said. There was a season in Cleveland where I lost 112 pounds. I didn’t lose nearly that much, but last year I kind of lost a bet with one of my best friends who’s got tattoos everywhere, rides motorcycles, didn’t graduate from high school.

“He’s taking a trip down to South America on a motorcycle by himself going all the way to the end and all the way back. He had to kind of take care of things this year because that was the main goal to beat him. It started with the staff and the weight loss challenge we did, but my buddy Marty, I’m glad he had to take care of the things he had to take care of, not me this year.”

Point is, Daboll, who looked unhealthy by the end of last season, looks great starting this one.

Other stuff

• Isaiah Simmons, as had been discussed by defensive coordinator Shane Bowen during ‘Hard Knocks’, appears to be preparing for a dual role as a defensive back/linebacker. Simmons did drills with both groups on Wednesday.
• Boogie Basham had an interception of Drew Lock when he hauled in a short pass across the middle that had been deflected. I could not see clearly who deflected the pass, but it appeared to be either Ryder Anderson or Jordan Phillips.
• Carter Coughlin appeared to leave practice early with a trainer. No news on what might have happened there.
• Schoen said rookie tight end Theo Johnson, on PUP with a hip issue, “should be back soon.”

Practice schedule

The Giants practice Thursday and Friday mornings at 10 a.m. and will be off on Saturday.

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