Giants sign Long Islander Greg Van Roten to help on offensive line
Giants' Greg Van Roten looks on during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Center, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in East Rutherford. Credit: Corey Sipkin
The Giants signed Greg Van Roten on Tuesday, adding another offensive lineman and bringing a Long Island guy home.
Van Roten attended Chaminade High School in Mineola.
Undrafted out of Penn in 2012, he signed with the Packers and played for the Jets in 2020 and 2021.
Coach Brian Daboll said he expects Van Roten to play one of the guard spots opposite Jon Runyan Jr.
Last season, Van Roten played 17 games as the starter at right guard for Las Vegas next to Jermaine Eluemunor, who is now the Giants' starter at right tackle, with Evan Neal still on the physically unable to perform list.
In Van Roten, the Giants added a needed reinforcement who is versatile. The 34-year-old had his best season last year, when he played with the Raiders and under offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo , who is now the Giants' offensive line coach.
“[Van Roten] had experience with Carm last year,” Daboll said. “[He’s a] veteran player. Can see him at play in any three spots that we need inside. Left guard, right guard, center.”
Van Roten was on the practice field Tuesday, but Daboll said he was “just kind of observing for the first day.”
Van Roten is likely to meet with the Giants media on Thursday. The team is off Wednesday.
The addition of Van Roten came at a good time for the Giants.
He is versatile, has a reputation as being a strong leader, and he’s healthy.
“Glad we added him and [we’ll] throw him in the mix,” Daboll said. “Like what he did last year when he was with Carm. Tough, physical, good leadership. So, put him out there and let him get reps.”
The Giants came into the preseason without Neal, who was selected by Giants general manager Joe Schoen with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft. Neal underwent ankle surgery in January but has struggled to get on the field since. At his news conferences, Daboll rarely is asked about Neal anymore. There is no timetable at this point for Neal to return to the field.
But Neal’s ongoing absence has had a domino effect on the rest of the offensive line.
On the first day of training camp last week, the Giants shifted Eluemunor from left guard, where he practiced all spring, to right tackle.
The Giants have also been without center John Michael Schmitz, who is dealing with a second shoulder issue in his two-year career. Daboll said Schmitz is “making progress” and the team will reevaluate him after Wednesday’s off day.
Blue notes
The Giants offense had its worst day of camp on Tuesday. And that includes quarterback Daniel Jones. Too many balls were off-target and hit the ground. Perhaps Wednesday’s off day will allow players to catch their breath . . . Kayvon Thibodeaux, asked what he expects from himself in his third NFL season, said: “Greatness, nothing less. I feel like that's going to be something you guys hear from me every year, every time you ask me, just because we work too hard, and we've done so much to get here that now we're too deep in it to turn back now. So, this is going to continue to strive for greatness, and whatever that looks like in my career, I've got to be happy with it and the work I put in at the end of the day.” . . . OLB Brian Burns appeared to sustain an ankle injury Monday but was back on the practice field Tuesday.
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.
