Giants OL Matt Peart steps in after Evan Neal leaves practice with concussion
Giants offensive tackle Matt Peart speaks to the media after practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Jan. 19 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Corey Sipkin
With Evan Neal leaving practice Friday with a concussion, as diagnosed by the Giants, Matt Peart stepped in at the tackle spot opposite Andrew Thomas.
Peart was the 99th pick of the 2020 draft.
“I’m always making sure I’m capitalizing on every opportunity to be with the [first string],” Peart told reporters Saturday on Zoom. “The attention to detail is that much more defined.”
Peart said offensive line coach Bobby Johnson “is a stickler for the details. Really, in the second year under him, it’s really about understanding what he wants and respecting what the defense gives us.
“It’s awesome being in my second year under [Johnson], so I feel like my skills from that standpoint have been able to grow and [I’ve been able] to attack each day.”
Peart may be in a fight for a roster spot as the regular season nears.
“It’s kind of crazy. Four years has flown by,” Peart said, “but it’s great to refine my skills.”
Big chance for Beavers
With linebacker Jarrad Davis on season-ending injured reserve with a knee injury, the door opens for someone to have a role next to starter Bobby Okereke in Wink Martindale’s defense.
Darrian Beavers could get another chance.
A sixth-round pick by the Giants in 2022, Beavers was sidelined by an ACL injury in the 2022 preseason. He is pushing to getting back to where he was before the injury.
“I’m in a really good head space and I’m just blessed to even be playing football,” he said.
Martindale also has been complimentary of Micah McFadden, a fifth-round pick last year. Both players have been getting first-team reps alongside Okereke. Beavers and McFadden are close friends. They roomed together during camp last season.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
