July 27, 2019 New York Giants Training Camp Report; Golden Tate Facing Suspension

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Jul 272019
 
Golden Tate, New York Giants (July 25, 2019)

Golden Tate – © USA TODAY Sports

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JULY 27, 2019 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants held their third full-team summer training camp practice on Saturday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The complete public training camp schedule is available at Giants.com.

GOLDEN TATE FACING 4-GAME SUSPENSION…
It was revealed on Saturday that New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate is appealing a 4-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing (PED) Substance policy. His appeal is currently scheduled to be heard during the first week of August. If Tate loses the appeal, he will miss the first four games of the regular-season. He will be able to continue to practice with the team this summer and play in the preseason.

Tate issued the following statement on Saturday:

       This past April, during the off-season, my wife and I decided to see a specialist for fertility planning. I started the treatment prescribed to me and just days later I discovered it contained an ingredient that is on the league’s banned substance list. I immediately discontinued use, I reported the situation to the Independent Administrator of the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, and I spoke with my coaches and general manager. I did all of this well before a failed test was even confirmed.

Per NFL protocol, an initial suspension was imminent, but myself and the Giants organization are confident in the fact, and eagerly await my appeal to put this behind us.

During the entirety of my 10 year career I have taken great pride in playing this game the right way, have been an ambassador for the NFL and have never had any issues with the league’s policy. The treatment this past April had no effect on the upcoming season, and I did not, and could not have undergone this treatment in April for any competitive advantage. I deeply appreciate the support from the New York Giants Organization, and will continue to hold the highest level of character and integrity, while being a leader in the locker room.

In respect to the team and my teammates I won’t be speaking on this again until after the appeal. I’m focusing on football, and will not let this be a distraction.

“I think he’s going to have an appeal,” said Head Coach Pat Shurmur before practice on Saturday. “I think he released a statement, so I really have nothing to add to that. We’ll just see what happens with it… When this situation arose, he’s been very honest with us.”

GIANTS SIGN AMBA ETTA-TAWO AND T.J. JONES…
The New York Giants have signed wide receivers Amba Etta-Tawo and T.J. Jones. To make room on the roster, the team placed wide receiver Corey Coleman on Injured Reserve and cut place kicker Joey Slye.

The 6’1”, 208-pound Etta-Tawo was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2017 NFL Draft. He has spent time on the Practice Squads of the Jaguars (2017), Kansas City Chiefs (2017), Giants (2017-2018), and Houston Texans (2018). Etta-Tawo also played for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football in 2019.

The 6’0”, 190-pound Jones was originally drafted in the 6th-round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. In four seasons with the Lions, Jones played in 42 regular-season games with nine starts, catching 64 passes for 814 yards and four touchdowns. Jones also has experience returning both kickoffs and punts.

Coleman tore an ACL in one of his knees on Thursday. Coleman was originally drafted in the 1st round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. An explosive athlete but an injury-plagued bust in Cleveland, Coleman has also had brief stints with the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots in 2018. The Giants signed Coleman to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October 2018. He ended up playing in eight games with one start, finishing with five catches for 71 yards. Coleman’s primary contribution came on special teams as as kickoff returner (averaging 26 yards on 23 returns).

The Giants signed and waived Slye in May 2019, and then re-signed him in July 2019. Slye graduated from Virginia Tech and did not play pro football in 2018. As a senior, he converted on 15-of-22 field goal attempts (68 percent) and 37-of-37 extra point attempts.

INJURY REPORT…
Wide receivers Darius Slayton (hamstring), Brittan Golden (groin), and Alex Wesley (PUP List – unknown) did not practice on Saturday. Cornerbacks Sam Beal (groin) and Henre’ Toliver (unknown) also did not practice.

Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (fractured thumb) was limited to individual drills in practice, not catching any passes. “Hopefully in a couple weeks I get out of this deal (splint) and I will be able to catch the ball,” said Shepard on Saturday.

Linebacker Mark McLaurin (foot stepped on) left practice early.

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • The first-team wide receivers were Golden Tate, Cody Latimer, and Bennie Fowler.
  • Julian Love saw reps at second-team safety along with Michael Thomas. Julian Peppers and Antoine Bethea remained the first-team safeties.
  • RB Rod Smith cut back against the second-team defense for a decent gain.
  • DL Jake Ceresna broke through the third-string line to “sack” the quarterback.
  • WR Da’Mari Scott turned around CB Corey Ballentine for a deep catch over the middle on a pass from QB Alex Tanney.
  • DB Julian Love punched the ball out of TE Scott Simonson’s hands for a fumble that LB Kareem Martin recovered. Love then broke up a QB Daniel Jones to WR Russell Shepard.
  • George Asafo-Adjei received first-team reps at right tackle.
  • S Jabrill Peppers had a “sack” and tackle for a loss against RB Wayne Gallman.
  • CB Corey Ballentine picked off QB Kyle Lauletta on an obvious miscommunication between quarterback and receiver. Ballentine returned the interception for a touchdown.
  • Spencer Pulley received some first-team reps at center.
  • CB Grant Haley broke up a low pass from QB Eli Manning. Haley had a good day, playing both in the slot and outside.
  • In the red zone, S Antoine Bethea made a nice break-up on a pass from QB Eli Manning to RB Wayne Gallman.
  • LB Nate Stupar made a diving break-up of a QB Daniel Jones pass intended for RB Paul Perkins.
  • QB Daniel Jones was 8-of-13 with an impressive deep sideline throw to WR Alonzo Russell (Russell couldn’t get his second foot in-bounds). Jones has not thrown an interception at camp thus far. Jones also threw two touchdowns in the red zone, including one to TE Garrett Dickerson.
  • QB Eli Manning had a strong practice and connected a number of times with WR Golden Tate and WR Cody Latimer. Manning finished 10-of-14 with two touchdowns, including one to TE Evan Engram and another to Tate.
  • QB Kyle Lauletta threw two red zone touchdowns, one to TE C.J. Conrad and another to WR Russell Shepard.
  • DLs R.J. McIntosh and Dexter Lawrence were active.
  • LB Oshane Ximines received some first-team snaps.

HEAD COACH PAT SHURMUR…
The transcript of Pat Shurmur’s press conference on Saturday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

July 25, 2019 New York Giants Training Camp Report; Sterling Shepard Breaks Thumb

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Jul 252019
 
Jabrill Peppers, New York Giants (July 25, 2019)

Jabrill Peppers – © USA TODAY Sports

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JULY 25, 2019 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants held their first full-team summer training camp practice on Thursday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The complete public training camp schedule is available at Giants.com.

INJURY REPORT – STERLING SHEPARD BREAKS THUMB…
Wide receivers Darius Slayton (hamstring) and Alex Wesley (PUP List – unknown) did not practice on Thursday.

Wide receiver Sterling Shepard left practice early. X-rays revealed that he fractured his thumb and will be “evaluated on a week-to-week basis.”

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • The starting offensive line consisted of LT Nate Solder, LG Will Hernandez, OC Jon Halapio, RG Kevin Zeitler, and RT Mike Remmers.
  • The second-team offensive line consisted of LT Brian Mihalik, LG Nick Gates, OC Spencer Pulley, RG Chad Slade, and RT Chad Wheeler.
  • The third-team offensive line consisted of LT Paul Adams, LG Austin Droogsma, OC Evan Brown, RG Victor Salako, and RT George Asafo-Adjei.
  • Wheeler and Mihalik also received first-team reps at left tackle. Wheeler received first-team reps at right tackle and Pulley first-team reps at center.
  • The quarterback pecking order was Eli Manning, Daniel Jones, Alex Tanney, and Kyle Lauletta.
  • The starting defensive line consisted of DE Dexter Lawrence, NT Dalvin Tomlinson, and DE B.J. Hill.
  • The starting linebackers were Lorenzo Carter, B.J. Goodson, Alec Ogletree, and Kareem Martin.
  • The starting corners were Janoris Jenkins and Deandre Baker with Grant Haley playing the nickel spot. The second-team corners were Sam Beal and Antonio Hamilton with Julian Love playing the nickel.
  • WR Golden Tate caught a touchdown pass from QB Eli Manning against CB Grant Haley in 1-on-1 drills. WR Sterling Shepard then did the same against CB Sam Beal.
  • A blitzing LB Kareem Martin forced QB Eli Manning to spike the ball into the ground.
  • LB Markus Golden beat second-team RT Chad Wheeler for what would have been a sack.
  • CB Antonio Hamilton punched the ball out of RB Rod Smith’s hands, forcing a fumble that Hamilton picked up and returned for a touchdown.
  • S Jabrill Peppers flashed into the backfield on a blitz.
  • QB Eli Manning completed 10-of-13 passes, with one interception on a screen pass.
  • QB Daniel Jones hit WR Bennie Fowler deep over the middle for what should have been a touchdown, but Fowler dropped the ball. Jones was 0-for-6 on his first six passes.
  • QB Daniel Jones’ first completion was a dump-off pass to RB Paul Perkins. He then completed three more passes in a row to Perkins, WR Bennie Fowler, and WR Alonzo Russell. Jones finished practice going 6-of-8, and ended the day 6-of-14.
  • LB Lorenzo Carter chased down WR Golden Tate on an end-around. Carter then broke up a screen pass intended for RB Saquon Barkley, picked off the ball before it hit the ground, and returned it for a defensive score.
  • WR Alonzo Russell was very active catching the football.
  • QB Daniel Jones and WR Bennie Fowler stayed after practice for some extra work.

NEW YORK GIANTS ROSTER MOVES…
The New York Giants have re-signed place kicker Joey Slye and claimed wide receiver Da’Mari Scott off of waivers from the Buffalo Bills. In addition, the Giants terminated the contract of cornerback Tony Lippett and received a Commissioner’s roster exemption for safety Kamrin Moore, who was suspended by the team last week after his alleged involvement in a domestic violence incident. Moore now will not count against the 90-man roster.

Slye graduated from Virginia Tech and did not play pro football in 2018. As a senior, he converted on 15-of-22 field goal attempts (68 percent) and 37-of-37 extra point attempts. The Giants signed him on May 6 but cut him on May 14.

The 23-year old, 6’0”, 205-pound Scott was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Browns waived him in December and he was then signed by the Bills. While he played in three regular-season games with the Bills, he does not yet have a reception in the NFL.

The Giants signed Lippett in to the 53-man roster in October 2018. He ended up playing in three games, with no starts. A former wide receiver, the 6’3”, 192-pound Lippett was originally drafted in the 5th round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. In three years with the Dolphins, from 2015 to 2017, Lippett played in 25 regular-season games with 13 starts. He missed all of the 2017 season with with a torn Achilles’ tendon. The Dolphins cut Lippett before the 2018 season started.

HEAD COACH PAT SHURMUR…
The transcript of Pat Shurmur’s press conference on Thursday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

Giants Sign Two, Including Mike Remmers, and Cut Two

 Posted by
May 142019
 
Mike Remmers, Minnesota Vikings (January 14, 2018)

Mike Remmers – © USA TODAY Sports

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NEW YORK GIANTS OFFICIALLY SIGN MIKE REMMERS…
The New York Giants have officially signed free agent right tackle Mike Remmers, who was cut by the Minnesota Vikings in March.

The 30-year old, 6’5”, 310-pound Remmers was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Denver Broncos after the 2012 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Broncos (2012), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012–2013), San Diego Chargers (2013), Vikings (2013), St. Louis Rams (2014), Carolina Panthers (2014–2016), and Vikings again (2017–2018). Remmers has started 59 regular-season games in the last four seasons, missing five games in 2017 with a concussion and lower back issues. While Remmers has experience at both tackle and guard, he played much better at right tackle in 2017 than he did at right guard in 2018. Remmers had back surgery in the offseason.

GIANTS SIGN FREEDOM AKINMOLADUN…
The New York Giants have signed undrafted rookie free agent defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun from the University of Nebraska. The 6’3”, 284-pound Akinmoladun participated in the team’s rookie mini-camp as a tryout player earlier this month.

GIANTS CUT JACOB THIENEMAN AND JOEY SLYE…
The New York Giants have waived/injured safety Jacob Thieneman and waived place kicker Joey Slye. The Giants signed  Thieneman as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2019 NFL Draft. He injured his knee during the Giants’ rookie mini-camp earlier this month. The Giants signed Slye after he impressed at the 2019 rookie mini-camp. Slye graduated from college and did not play pro football in 2018.

Giants Sign Two More Tryout Players, Cut Three

 Posted by
May 062019
 
Austin Droogsma, Florida State Seminoles (April 27, 2018)

Austin Droogsma – © USA TODAY Sports

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GIANTS TWO MORE TRYOUT PLAYERS, CUT THREE…
The New York Giants have signed two more tryout players who participated in the three-day rookie mini-camp that concluded on Sunday. The Giants have signed offensive guard Austin Droogsma and place kicker Joey Slye.

Droogsma has not played football since high school in 2012. The 6’4”, 345-pound Droogsma was a star shot-putter at Florida State, where he graduated in 2018. Slye graduated from Virginia Tech and did not play pro football in 2018. As a senior, he converted on 15-of-22 field goal attempts (68 percent) and 37-of-37 extra point attempts.

The Giants also waived defensive end Myles Humphrey, linebacker Ukeme Eligwe, and cornerback Michael Hunter.

The 6’3”, 238-pound Humphrey originally signed with the Baltimore Ravens after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Giants signed Humphrey to the Practice Squad in October 2018.

Ukeme Eligwe was signed to the Practice Squad in September 2018 after he was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Giants signed him to the 53-man roster in October 2018. Eligwe ended up playing in 10 games with no starts, accruing just seven tackles and one pass defense. The 6’2”, 239-pound Eligwe was originally drafted in the 5th round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Chiefs.

The Giants signed Michael Hunter to a reserve/futures contract in January 2019. The Giants originally signed Hunter as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent time on both the team’s Practice Squad and 53-man roster in 2016. He also made the team in 2017 before being waived/injured in October 2017. The 6’0”, 192-pound Hunter played in six regular-season games for the Giants with no starts. Since leaving the Giants, Hunter has spent time with the New York Jets (2017), Denver Broncos (2017-2018), Buffalo Bills (2018), and Houston Texans (2018). He did not play in a regular-season game for any of those teams.

ARTICLES…