Giants Country

New York Giants Mailbag: Roster Curiosity Edition

Let's check in with our readers to see what's on their minds.
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Mailbag: Roster Curiosity Edition
New York Giants Mailbag: Roster Curiosity Edition

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New York Giants

If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please send it to nygiantsmaven@gmail.com. Note: Some letters may have been edited for clarity/length.

(From John M.) Is there any history of an active NFL player paying a teammate out of his salary to supplement his income?

Not that I'm aware of John. There have been some instances where a player might take a pay cut or a restructure to help the team land another player but directly take from his salary to give another? No, I haven't heard of any such instance.

(From Robert J.) 2. Is Jason Pinnock in line to make the team this year? I haven't heard much; I just saw the excellent interception.

Hi Robert, I've been writing about Pinnock a lot of late. He's been running with the starting defense, so yeah, I'd say he's not only in line to make the team, but he sure does look like he will nail down that other starting spot next to Xavier McKinney. And given how well he looked in the preseason opener, he took another step forward to winning that job.

(From Jeff H.) 1. Following receiver David Sills V this spring, he hasn't dropped any passes to him and has 9 TD passes in the summer from both QBs Jones and Taylor. He is a big target at 6-3" and is reliable with good speed. Why is he still on the fringe of making the roster?

Jeff, first, kudos to Sills for hanging around as long as he has. But it takes more than just having size and "good speed" to make a roster, which, let's be honest here, he has struggled to do since being drafted by the Bills in 2019.

Sills, remember, lost his roster spot last year even as injuries were depleting the receiver corps. He has a 56.5 percent catch rate, a 13.3 percent career drop rate, and an NFL target rating of 35.2. All of those are poor numbers.

The Giants have upgraded their receiver corps to where they might move on from Sills, but I think it will depend on injury. We'll see how these next three weeks go, but by golly, how many more years can a team carry a guy on the practice squad before it becomes crystal clear that he's reached his ceiling?

What's up, Todd? I disagree. Jihad Ward missed some practice time with an injury, and I've seen some practices now where when Ojulari and Thibodeaux aren't in there, the OLBs struggle to set the edge. 

Maybe that will improve as the summer goes on, but setting the edge has always been a broken link in Ximines's game, and I think it was quite telling that they waited until after the draft to re-sign him, don't you?

Too soon to say for sure, John. I generally like to look at where things stand after the second preseason game regarding injuries and see if any weak performances improve from the first preseason game. After next week's game, circle back with me again, and I can give you a better and more informed guess.

Ideally, they'd like for Ezeudu to become a starting guard on this line, but remember, he missed a good chunk of his rookie season, so in many ways, he's still wet behind the ears. 

As for Peart, this is the final year of his rookie deal, and I question whether he will be on this team for the long term, to be honest. 

I think it will be Jason Pinnock and Xavier McKinney as the safeties and Adoree' Jackson and Deonte Banks as the corners. As for the slot, I have yet to see anyone make a strong push to take the job from Darnay Holmes, but we'll see how it plays out over these next two weeks.

I wouldn't say he's looked bad. Inconsistent? That, I would say. I think he has a chance to take the bull by the horns here, and he hasn't done so.

Mark,  here's my 53-man roster projection written prior to the Giants-Lions preseason opener, not just for the offensive line but for the entire team. 

(From Ben L.) I’m curious to know what information can be gleaned from who coaches spend extra time. For example, do coaches spend more time with rookies/ players on the bottom of the roster, or do they focus on improving top talent. Has Daboll spent extra time coaching specific players?

What's good, Ben? One can draw any number of conclusions from watching who the coaches spend time with. Sometimes it might be to teach a guy a specific technique or to correct something they saw in practice.

Coaches will spend time with all the players at some point--it depends as every situation is different. I know Brian Daboll does try to make his way around the field to the various individual unit groups when they're in the individual periods of practice. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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