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Giants Notebook: Training Camp, Roster Cutdown Dates and the Return of a Familiar Face to the NFC East

Get your calendars out, as there are some need-to-know dates in this edition of the notebook.

According to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, the NFL has, per the terms of the CBA, designated Tuesday, July 27 as the date that 29 out of the 32 teams can report to training camp.

The date falls 47 days before the Sunday of Week 1. Meanwhile, the remaining teams--Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay--can report as early as July 21, the first two teams due to their participation in the Hall of Fame game, and the Bucs because they're opening their season on Thursday night.

Teams opening training camp on July 27 can also open their doors to fan attendance by Saturday, July 31.

The NFL is bringing back preseason games this year after canceling them last summer during the height of the global pandemic. Teams will play three preseason games starting this year, a tradeoff for agreeing to allow an extra regular-season game.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced earlier this week that the state's outdoor venues may open their doors to full capacity crowds beginning May 28, with indoor venues to follow June 4.


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Training Camp Rosters to Return to 90 Men

In yet another sign that things are slowly returning to a pre-pandemic normal, the NFL has approved teams to return to having 90-man rosters for training camp.

Last year, because of COVID-19 concerns, the league cut down training camp rosters to 80 men and mandated that the 80 be spread out in locker rooms to adhere to social distancing. The Giants, in response to that mandate, set up their training camp shop at MetLife Stadium.

It's not known if the Giants plan to move to the stadium again this summer, but with preseason games returning, making such a move might not be logistically possible.

New Roster Cutdown Dates

Along with the return of the 90-man roster, the NFL has approved a three-tiered roster cutdown down calendar in which teams will continuously trim their rosters t get to the league-mandated 53-man roster over three weeks.

The first cutdown date will be August 17, when teams reduce their 90-man roster from 90 to 85. On August 24, teams must get to 80 men, and then on August 31, teams must reach the 53-man roster limit.

Nov 19, 2017; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo before the start of overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium.

Former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo is back in the NFL East, as he's joined Mike McCarthy's staff in Dallas.

Ben's Back

Former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo will be returning to the NFC East this fall.

McAdoo, who in 28 games as the Giants head coach went 13-15 before becoming the first head coach since John McVay in 1976 to be fired in-season, joins the Dallas Cowboys as a consultant under Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

McAdoo and McCarthy have a long history of working together, the bulk of which ran its course in Green Bay when McCarthy was the head coach of the Packers and McAdoo held an assistant's role.

The two also worked together when McCarthy was the offensive coordinator for the Saints (in 2004) and 49ers (in 2005).

McAdoo returned to coaching last season with Jacksonville, for whom he was the team's quarterbacks coach.