Exploring Giants Options if Andrew Thomas Can't Play

No, the Giants can't forfeit their upcoming game against Arizona if a hamstring strain sidelines Andrew Thomas. But here's a look at their options.

Author:
Gene Clemons
Publish date:
Sep 14, 2023 1:04 PM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants

Of all the bad things that happened this past Sunday to the New York Giants--and there were plenty of negatives to go around--the worst was the hamstring injury suffered by All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas.

Thomas not only represents one of the Giants' unquestioned leaders, but he is far and away their best offensive lineman as a run blocker and especially as a pass protector. There's a chance that Thomas could miss time as he recovers from a hamstring strain suffered while trying to chase down the blocked field goal the Cowboys returned for a touchdown.

While Thomas's injury has been classified as 'day to day" by head coach Brian Daboll as opposed to the more serious "week to week" classification, hamstring injuries tend to linger if they are not properly rested.

The Giants have a game Sunday against the Cardinals and a quick turnaround for a Thursday night tilt against the 49ers. The Giants should rest him in both of those games and get three good weeks of rest before getting him back out there. But if they are without him, what do they do with so much futility along the offensive line?

Matt Peart

Most defenses in the NFL do not have a pass rush on the level of the Cowboys. The Cardinals certainly don't, but the 49ers do.

The easiest answer is to go with the status quo. Matt Peart is the backup and has been with the organization for several seasons. There was hope that he could become a starting-caliber tackle for the team, but that has not happened.

He would be the easiest plug-and-play at the position, but obviously, he is a far cry from Thomas. Head coach Brian Daboll was asked his thoughts about Peart's summer, and they weren't exactly a ringing endorsement.

"I think he has improved in some areas," he said. "It’s the early part of the season. He’ll keep improving and knows what to do; he did some good things. Other than that, we will just keep on working with him."

Peart is also dealing with an elbow injury that he suffered against the Cowboys, so the coaches must consider that.

Joshua Ezeudu

Before the Giants drafted Joshua Ezeudu to play guard, he spent the past two seasons at the University of North Carolina playing tackle. He played right tackle as a junior and left tackle as a senior.

Daboll revealed on Wednesday that the Giants have been practicing Ezudu at left tackle more over the last couple of weeks after the open access to the entire practices for the media ended.

Ezuedu, who lost the starting left guard competition to Ben Bredeson this summer, stepped in for Peart after he suffered his elbow injury, and he seemed to hold his own in the 14 snaps he received. Daboll was complimentary of the second-year player's performance, saying, "He did good; he’s been practicing there for a while. He’s certainly an option at that spot, too."

There is a chance that the team could turn to Ezuedu to play on the left side if they feel he is healthier or just gives them a better option than Peart.

Evan Neal

Daboll quickly shot down the possibility of moving Evan Neal, who has struggled at right tackle, to the left side as an option if Thomas doesn't play, saying, "I’d say we consider a lot of stuff; that’s probably not one of them."

But we will explore the possibility anyway because some have argued that Evan Neal’s issues are based on him being more comfortable on the left side than the right.

Based on Daboll's statement, the Giants aren't willing to find out if that's the case. But sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. And with Neal going to the left side, it would give them the option to play Peart on the right side (if healthy) and still give Ezeudu a chance to go in at right guard if they decided to make a change there for Mark Glowinski.

They could also stick with Glowinski and insert Ezeudu on the right side as a precursor to a future move at the position. If Neal is a flop on the left side as well, it could be what they needed to see, and they decide to place Neal inside where he could be a high-level, possibly Pro Bowl-caliber guard, especially if Ezeudu comports himself well at right tackle.

But again, Daboll is not considering such a move, at least not yet. Whether he changes his mind is another story.

Final Thoughts

We didn't mention Marcus McKethan, the forgotten man among last year's draft picks and a guy who can play tackle and guard. McKenthan is still working his way back from a torn ACL and has a lot of catching up after missing his entire rookie season due to injury.

It is worth noting that not every defense can apply the same pressure as Dallas. However, the Giants' schedule has more than its fair share of difficult pass rushes.

The 49ers will wreak havoc. The Giants also play the Dolphins, Jets, and Raiders, all of whom have good pass rushes. The Patriots keep a high-level edge, ready to seek and destroy.

The Giants then get two games against the Commanders, another game against the Cowboys, and two against the best team in the league in 2022 at sacking the quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles.

If Thomas is going to miss a couple of games, which he probably should, now is the time for experimentation. An 0-3 start may sound catastrophic, but if, in that time, the team can figure out some adjustments to make them significantly better up front, there is no reason they can not still be a playoff team.