Giants' Ihmir Smith-Marsette dynamic on and off the field

Before practice on Thursday, Ihmir Smith-Marsette got behind the wheel of a cart. He drove slowly around the edge of the Giants’ practice field while laughing at teammates nearby.

It was something that probably didn’t come as a shock to special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial, who singled out Smith-Marsette’s personality and energy as his best traits — in addition to the speed that got him a 100-yard kickoff-return touchdown last Sunday against the Colts.

“It’s truly contagious,” Ghobrial said Thursday. “When you’re looking at a returner in general, it always starts with the skill set, obviously, but there’s a plus-one attribute that not a lot of people see, and that’s the person, the human being.”

The joy for his first NFL kickoff-return touchdown — and the Giants’ first since Dwayne Harris in 2015 — was evident in Smith-Marsette’s postgame reaction. His eyes got wide imagining his grandmother watching the play on TV and screaming at home. The Newark native said the score felt even more cool with 10 family members and friends at MetLife Stadium.

The play earned Smith-Marsette his first NFC special teams player of the week award and might have taken some of the sting out of the punt-return touchdown he had on Dec. 8 against the Saints that was negated by a penalty.

“It’s special,” Smith-Marsette told Newsday. “I’m back home, comfortable. Family and friends. It just feels good being home . . . and having that moment was good, too.”

With the season coming to an end on Sunday, it’s fair to ask if that moment was good enough to bring him back for another year.

Smith-Marsette will be a free agent after signing a one-year deal last offseason. He’s been used by the Giants more in punt-return duty but gradually received more chances on kickoffs after Eric Gray’s fumble against the Browns.

Stability has been hard to find for Smith-Marsette. Since being drafted by the Vikings in 2021, he’s played on five different teams in five seasons. Smith-Marsette won a championship with Kansas City in 2023 after being waived by the Bears earlier that season.

In Smith-Marsette’s mind, Sunday’s game in Philadelphia serves as another audition to impress the Giants or another team. But it’s not something he’s worrying about.

“If they feel like I’m somebody that they want to bring back, my agent and the people upstairs will work that out,” said Smith-Marsette, who has 584 total return yards this season. “If not? Somebody else or wherever. I just feel like I cemented myself in the NFL to the point where I showed that I belong here.”

Smith-Marsette also wants to prove he’s more than just a return specialist. He wants to show he can be a productive receiver, too.

Smith-Marsette hasn’t caught a pass this season and has only 14 catches for 182 yards in his career. But with his speed, he knows he’s a threat to make big plays and would like more chances to do so.

“When I get the ball in my hands, I got potential to take it to the house,” Smith-Marsette said. “My first year with the Vikings, my first and only start, I put up [103] yards. When the Panthers finally decided to use me last year, [it was a] first down every time I touched the ball.”

Five of his eight catches last season went for first downs. It’s even more of a reason why Smith-Marsette hopes his success as a returner convinces a team to give him more snaps at receiver.

It doesn’t change that he left a mark on this season with his personality and play. The homecoming, in his mind, was worth it despite the losses on the field.

Now it’s just using this last game to prove he’s earned more chances to do more on the field, whether it’s with the Giants or another team.

“I just feel like I’ve shown flashes,” Smith-Marsette said. “I’m just waiting for that true opportunity. And when it comes, I’m gonna just show the world what I’m capable of.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.