Giants' five projected starting offensive linemen on field together for first time
Giants guard Greg Van Roten does a drill during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 4. Credit: Ed Murray
On a day when most of the league was focused on saying goodbye, trimming rosters to 53 names, the Giants were able to finally say hello to one very important group of players.
The team’s Tuesday morning walk-through included the very first time that the five projected starting offensive linemen were all together on the field at the same time. Injuries to several of them at different points during training camp had prevented that from happening, and there was some nervousness it might not occur at all in time for the regular-season opener in a week and a half.
But there they were, all lined up, ready to go.
It was such a momentous occasion that coach Brian Daboll pulled out his smartphone to document the accomplishment.
“I took a picture of those guys,” he said. “The five of them out there doing their first drill together.”
Like a proud papa capturing baby’s first steps.
Daboll wasn’t kidding, either. He showed Newsday the snapshot that had Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten and Jermaine Eluemunor standing in the fieldhouse left to right, shoulder to shoulder.
“It was kind of funny,” Thomas said of the impromptu shoot. “It was great to have everybody back. We need these reps. We have seven or eight practices before the first game so we need every rep we can get.”
Only two of the starters, Thomas and Schmitz, are back from last year. Two others, Runyan and Eluemunor, signed as free agents in the spring but played different positions during the offseason workouts. Van Roten was added during camp.
Thomas said because there are so many veterans among that group — only Schmitz, coming into his second NFL season, has less than five years in the league — it shouldn’t take very long for them to coalesce.
“I think it’s just a matter of being on the same page as far as language, but as far as the schemes, we’ve seen every play there is,” Thomas said. “I think we’ll be OK . . . Hopefully we can be dominant.”
Injuries kept the group apart until now, but Thomas, the most important of the players and someone who has missed time due to various medical injuries throughout his career, was a mainstay throughout the summer. He didn’t miss a single rep due to injury at left tackle with the first team the entire camp and there was just one series he sat out (Daboll pulled a handful of starters for a couple of snaps).
Rebuilding the offensive line was a priority for the front office since last season. All five of the starters were available at different times during the camp, so they did get work in individually. It may not have been obvious to everyone that they were never all there lined up at once. But it was clearly something the Giants were aware of as they anticipated Tuesday’s alignment.
“I noticed, yeah,” Thomas said.
Now the most important thing for the group will be noticing the difference it makes.
Notes & quotes: The Giants kept three quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster rather than waive Tommy DeVito and risk having another team claim him. Having DeVito on the active roster will also allow them to use him as an emergency third QB in games as practice squad elevations are not eligible for that designation . . . A glitch with the league’s internal waiver wire prevented the Giants’ cuts, as well as those by the Ravens and Buccaneers, from being distributed to the rest of the league and they were not announced publicly. However, among the notable known cuts that brought the Giants’ roster to 53 were WR Isaiah Hodgins, who had been a key part of the 2022 playoff team; veteran FB/TE Jakob Johnson who had signed just last week; rookie RB Dante “Turbo” Miller, LB and 2022 draft pick Darrian Beavers, WR Allen Robinson, CB Darnay Holmes and TE Lawrence Cager. LB Matt Adams (quad) was placed on injured reserve and designated for return while WR Isaiah McKenzie (foot) was placed on season-ending injured reserve. Assistant GM Brandon Brown said last week the Giants figure to be aggressive on the waiver wire, a clear indication the roster could change dramatically in the coming days . . . The Giants voted on and named their five captains on Tuesday: Daniel Jones and Thomas on offense, Dexter Lawrence and Bobby Okereke on defense, and Casey Kreiter on special teams. All five are returning players and Kreiter is the only one who didn’t serve in that role last season.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
