Cody Core – Courtesy of New York Giants
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AUGUST 19, 2020 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP MEDIA PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media and team sources:
- After Tuesday night’s very physical practice, the New York Giants held a light, 75-percent speed practice on Wednesday.
- Quarterback Daniel Jones and center Spencer Pulley had to run laps after a botched center exchange.
- Running back Saquon Barkley returned kickoffs.
INJURY REPORT – CODY CORE DONE FOR THE SEASON…
It was revealed that wide receiver Cody Core tore his Achilles’ tendon during yesterday’s practice. He will miss the entire 2020 NFL season and was officially placed on Injured Reserve. While Core only had three catches for 28 yards in 2019, he was arguably the team’s best special teams player, excelling on punt coverage. He was credited with eight tackles and was a big factor in downing punts inside the 20-yard line. The Giants re-signed him to a 2-year, $4 million contract in the offseason.
“Now I will say this about Cody,” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “Look, I hate it for him. I hate it for him. You watch a guy work his butt off. You know what kind of competitor he is, what kind of player he is, how much he’s invested in us and what he’s done. Everything we’ve asked him to do, he’s done 100 percent. He was great during the virtual program in the spring. He was much better, obviously, in person. You can really get a feel for the guy when you’re in the same room a lot more and watching him work on the field. He made a great deal of improvement as a receiver. He’s one of the top special teams players in the league.
“Hopefully, his injury is something he can come back from full speed. I look forward to seeing this guy in the future. His personality, the way he competes, his physical ability, he’s definitely the kind of guy we want to work with. Everyone on the team takes a blow when anyone has any kind of an injury. That’s just the way it is. We care about each other in the locker room, we want to see everybody succeed. We’ll have to go ahead and look to replace positions at all spots, but we hate it for Cody Core. We wish him well in his recovery.”
The 6’3”, 205-pound Core was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. In three seasons with the Bengals, he played in 35 regular-season games with seven starts, accumulating 30 catches for 360 yards and one touchdown. The Giants claimed Core off of waivers from the Bengals in September 2019.
Judge said cornerback Corey Ballentine, who injured his shoulder in Tuesday’s practice, was fine. “They told us he was cleared to practice today and go through all of the team drills,” said Judge.
GIANTS OFFICIALLY SIGN GRAHAM GANO…
The Giants finally officially announced the expected signing of place kicker Graham Gano. The NFL Network is reporting that the deal is a 1-year contract with a maximum value of $2.5 million, including $1 million in guaranteed money and $250,000 in incentives.
The 33-year old Gano spent most of his NFL career with the Washington Redskins (2009-2011) and Carolina Panthers (2012-2019). However, he missed the last four games of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 season with a knee injury. The Panthers released him in late July 2020. Gano is a 82 percent field goal kicker who made the Pro Bowl in 2017. He also kicked a 63-yard field goal against the Giants in 2018.
“Obviously, (Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey) and (General Manager) Dave (Gettleman) have experience with him personally from back in Carolina,” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “That goes a long way. He’s someone who wasn’t available early on in this process. Then when he became available, we obviously had him on our radar. It was fortunate that it worked out the way it is.
“He’s a competitive guy, he’s a talented guy. He obviously missed a little bit of time due to injury. I’m anxious to get him on the field and see him get going. He’s a big leg guy who has experience. He hits a consistent, straight line ball with solid flight, the ball gets good lift. He’s made improvement throughout his career. I think with any specialist, kicker, punter, snapper, you really see their best ball as they get towards their 30’s. They’ve had their time to really develop, to understand the league, to really understand how their body works, to structure it for the duration of a season. They understand situationally how they have to stay fresh and in the moment. Young guys may have a little bit more pop in their legs at times. Young guys may have a little bit more raw ability. But when it comes to NFL specialists, they really start peaking around those 30’s ages right there. That’s why a lot of them have the ability to play even in their early 40’s.”
HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at YouTube.
THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at YouTube:
WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants practice again on Thursday morning (9:45-11:45AM), with Head Coach Joe Judge and select players also addressing the media after practice.
ARTICLES…
- Giants’ Daniel Jones spent offseason getting chiseled, improving his game by Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com
- Carl Banks wants Lorenzo Carter to become ‘Giants linebacker’ by Mark Cannizzaro of The New York Post
Eric Kennedy
Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.
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