Day Two of New York Giants Rookie Mini-Camp

 Posted by
May 062023
 
Tommy DeVito, New York Giants (May 5, 2023)

Tommy DeVito – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS ROOKIE MINI-CAMP ENDS…
The second and final day of the New York Giants two-day rookie mini-camp was held on Saturday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. There were 73 players in attendance, including the team’s seven 2023 draft picks, nine signed undrafted rookie free agents, five players previously on the roster, and 52 tryout players (including a few veterans).

“You’ve got a tremendous amount of empathy for these guys that come out here and are doing everything they’re asked to do,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll before practice, “and there’s only so many spots on an NFL roster, and those get taken away each few weeks here in training camp, but I told those guys I appreciate day one, and let’s go out here and have a good day two, and we’ll see how it goes.

“8:00 they come in, they meet from 8:00 to 8:55 with their position coaches or maybe Wink (Martindale) wants to meet with them for 10 minutes, or (Mike) Kafka does. We have a little team meeting, we go back out, they have another long meeting with their position coaches. We do a walk-through, then we come out here, then watch the tape, then we go back in at about 2:30 today and finish watching the tape. I’d say this camp they have a little bit more with their individual coaches because there’s a lot less install. Kafka is not up there for 40 minutes installing plays. It’s five plays a day here… They’re the ones meeting few hours a day. That’s why we don’t put in a whole lot in this type of camp because we want to see who can pick things up for call it five, six plays or a couple defenses, be really detailed. If they’re struggling with that, then that’s an issue.”

PARTICIPANTS…
Draft Picks (7):

  • CB Deonte Banks
  • OC John Michael Schmitz
  • WR Jalin Hyatt
  • RB Eric Gray
  • CB Tre Hawkins III
  • DL Jordon Riley
  • S Gervarrius Owens

Signed Undrafted Rookie Free Agents (9):

  • QB Tommy DeVito
  • WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton
  • TE/FB Ryan Jones
  • OLB Habakkuk Baldonado
  • ILB Dyontae Johnson
  • ILB Troy Brown
  • CB Gemon Green
  • S Alex Cook
  • LS Cameron Lyons

New York Giants “Veterans” (5):

  • RB Jashaun Corbin
  • WR Kalil Pimpleton
  • WR Makai Polk
  • CB Leonard Johnson
  • S Trenton Thompson

Undrafted rookie and veteran tryout players (52).

GIANTS CUT TWO PLAYERS…
The Giants have waived offensive lineman Solomon Kindley and waived/failed physical safety Terrell Burgess.

The Giants signed Kindley to the Practice Squad in early October 2022. He did not play for New York in 2022. Kindley was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins waived him in August 2022.

The Giants signed Burgess to the Practice Squad in November 2022 after he was waived by the Los Angeles Rams. Burgess played in one regular-season game, exclusively on special teams. Burgess was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Rams.

GIANTS SIGN ANOTHER DRAFT PICK…
The Giants signed defensive lineman Jordon Riley, one of their 7th-round selections in the 2023 NFL Draft. On Friday, the team signed RB Eric Gray (5th round), CB Tre Hawkins (6th round), and S Gervarrius Owens (7th round).

Only CB Deonte Banks (1st round), OC John Michael Schmitz (2nd round), and WR Jalin Hyatt (3rd round) remain unsigned.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The  transcript and video of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Saturday are available in The Corner Forum and 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 on YouTube:

Wednesday Giants Injury Report; Mike Kafka Drawing Interest

 Posted by
Jan 112023
 
Mike Kafka, New York Giants (October 7, 2022)

Mike Kafka – © USA TODAY Sports

JANUARY 11, 2023 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
OC Jon Feliciano (back), DL Leonard Williams (neck), OLB Azeez Ojulari (ankle), CB Adoree’ Jackson (knee), and S Jason Pinnock (shoulder) were limited in practice on Wednesday. “Yeah, I think everybody will practice,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll before practice. “Maybe some will be more limited, but I’m encouraged where everybody’s at.”

S Xavier McKinney (fingers) fully practiced.

PANTHERS AND TEXANS INTERESTED IN MIKE KAFKA…
Media sources are reporting that the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans are interested in interviewing New York Giants Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka for their head-coaching vacancies. Teams are not allowed to interview Kafka until January 17th.

PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES…
The Giants have re-signed defensive lineman Vernon Butler and signed wide receiver James Washington to the Practice Squad. Butler was cut from the Practice Squad last Friday.

The 26-year old, 5’11”, 216-pound Washington was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. After spending four years with the Steelers, Washington signed with the Dallas Cowboys in March 2022, but spent most of this season on Injured Reserve with a broken foot. The Cowboys cut him last Wednesday. Washington has played in 61 regular-season games with 25 starts, catching 114 passes for 1,629 yards and 11 touchdowns.

To make room for these two players, the Giants terminated the Practice Squad contracts of defensive lineman Jack Heflin and signed offensive lineman Solomon Kindley, who was on the Practice Squad, to a Reserve/Future contract, thus removing him from the Practice Squad. The 6’4”, 339-pound Kindley was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins waived him in August 2022 and the Giants signed him to the Practice Squad in October. Kindley has played in 29 regular-season games with 15 starts.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

NOTES…
The Giants are making their 33rd post-season appearance, which ties them with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the third-highest total in NFL history, behind Green Bay and the Dallas Cowboys at 35 apiece.

The Giants are 24-25 all-time in the playoffs. They were 4-13 prior to the 1970 merger and are 20-12 since. In post-season play, the Giants are 12-9 at home, 8-15 on the road and 4-1 in neutral site Super Bowls. Since the merger, they are 8-4 at home, 8-7 as visitors, and 4-1 on neutral fields.

The Giants are 6-5 in Wild Card games (3-2 at home, 3-3 on the road), 5-6 in the divisional round (3-2 at home, 2-4 on the road), and 5-0 in conference championship games (2-0 at home, 3-0 on the road).

The Giants are 2-1 in the postseason vs. Minnesota. All three games were played in Giants Stadium.

Head coach Brian Daboll coached in 30 post-season games as an assistant coach – 24 with New England (nine appearances) and six with Buffalo (three appearances). Those teams were 23-7, including 4-1 in the Wild Card round and 5-0 in Super Bowls.

The Giants have rushed for a touchdown in a franchise-record 15 consecutive games.

Quarterback Daniel Jones led all qualified passers in the league with a 1.1 interception percentage in the regular season (a career-low five interceptions on a career-high 472 attempts).

The Giants’ six interceptions this season tied for the fewest ever by a playoff team, joining the 2004 Rams and 2021 Raiders.

Graham Gano made 29-of-32 field goal attempts (90.6%) and 32-of-34 extra point tries. Two of his missed field goals included a blocked kick vs. Carolina on September 18 and a 58-yarder into the wind on the last play of overtime in the 20-20 tie vs. Washington on December 4. He set a Giants record with eight field goals of 50+ yards, one more than he had in 2021.

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday afternoon (12:45-2:30PM). The coordinators and select players will also address the media.

Aaron Robinson Placed on IR; Nick Gates Returns to Practice; Injury Update

 Posted by
Oct 052022
 
Nick Gates, New York Giants (August 29, 2021)

Nick Gates – © USA TODAY Sports

GIANTS PLACE AARON ROBINSON ON INJURED RESERVE…
The New York Giants placed starting cornerback Aaron Robinson on Injured Reserve on Tuesday with a knee injury that he suffered on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Robinson must remain on Injured Reserve for at least four games. Robinson, a 3rd round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, had missed Weeks 2 and 3 after undergoing an appendectomy on September 14.

NICK GATES RETURNS TO PRACTICE…
Offensive center Nick Gates, who is currently on the Reserve/Physically-Unable-to-Perform (PUP) List, has returned to practice. Gates will have up to three weeks to practice with the team without counting against the 53-man roster. Once that timeframe ends, he either must be added to the roster or revert to the PUP for the rest of the season. Gates suffered a serious, career-threatening lower leg injury in Week 2 of last season requiring multiple surgeries.

“Impressive,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll before practice. “We had a walk-through earlier and had him break down the team. Much respect to really anybody that comes back from injuries, but his injuries were significant. All the surgeries and he’s had nothing but a positive mindset since he’s been here. The guys were hooting and hollering when he was breaking them down. You root for guys like that. It’s a tough industry we’re in, in terms of physical things that can happen. Just a lot of respect for him and what he’s done and proud of the young man.”

“It’s 21 days until they have to make a decision about what they want to do with me,” said Gates after practice. “I feel good. It’s nice to be back out there on the field, it’s nice to run around with the guys. It was a good time. It was a good feeling to be back out there. I didn’t think I was going to be back out there this fast… I’m not going to lie. At one point after I had my last surgery, which was No. 7, they had to take the rod out because I had an infection in my bone and put another rod in. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play this year… The original (surgery) they put a rod in, two screws down my tibia. Then I got compartment syndrome. I’ll show you, there’s a big scar. Got compartment syndrome, so they sliced your leg open and let the swelling kind of – fasciotomy it’s called – just let the swelling do its thing and slowly close you up, that took four and then I had to get a skin graft which was No. 6. Then they had to take my rod out and put another rod in which was No. 7.”

PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES…
The Giants have signed offensive guard Solomon Kindley to the Practice Squad. To make room for Kindley, the Giants terminated the Practice Squad contract of running back Antonio Williams. The 25-year old, 6’4”, 339-pound Kindley was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins waived him in August 2022. Kindley has played in 29 regular-season games with 15 starts.

OCTOBER 5, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
QB Tyrod Taylor (concussion), WR Kenny Golladay (knee), WR Richie James (ankle), DL Henry Mondeaux (ankle), OLB Azeez Ojulari (calf), CB Cor’Dale Flott (calf), and S Julian Love (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday.

“(Golladay) will not practice today,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll before practice. “I doubt he’ll be ready to go this week.”

QB Daniel Jones (ankle), WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring), OT Evan Neal (neck), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), DL Leonard Williams (knee), CB Fabian Moreau (foot), and CB Nick McCloud (hamstring) practiced on a limited basis.

“(Jones will) practice some,” said Daboll. “We’ll see where he’s at. We’ll see where he’s at after today… Not surprised. He’s a pretty tough individual. I think he’s made a lot or progress since after the game, and he’s been in the treatment room pretty consistently throughout these last couple of days. So, we’ll put him out there, give him some reps and see where he’s at.”

“Yeah, felt good,” said Jones after practice. “Felt good out there. I’ve been working with the trainers, and I’ve made a lot of progress the last couple of days. I’ll continue to listen to them and continue to do what I can to be back out there.”

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday afternoon (12:30-2:30PM). The coordinators and select players will also address the media.