5 Very Early Pre-game Thoughts Ahead of NY Giants Second Preseason Game

The Giants and Jets have their annual clash as both teams move toward finalizing their respective 53-man rosters.

The New York Giants host the New York Jets Saturday night in the second preseason game of the summer. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As we get ready for the New York Giants to host the New York Jets in this week’s preseason game, here are a few pregame thoughts. 

Will Evan Neal Play? 

New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Barring something unexpected happening, I think we will finally get to see Evan Neal at guard this week. I wouldn’t be surprised if Neal starts in place of Greg Van Roten, just to see how he performs if he indeed has to be thrown in there with the starting offensive line at some point.

Neal has, for the most part, had a good camp playing guard when he’s been out there. Has it been perfect? No, but it’s probably the best he’s looked in a while. But again, it’s practice, and the game speed is quite a different animal and one that Neal must show that he can handle.   

Jaxson Dart is Excited 

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Look for Jaxson Dart to get a lot of work this week. With Dart expected to start the 2025 season on the bench, the coaches want to continue taking advantage of every opportunity to get him as much work as humanly possible this preseason, especially once the regular season starts and the lion’s share of the practice reps go to starter Russell Wilson and backup Jameis Winston. 

“I can't wait,” Dart said about playing in front of the hometown crowd at MetLife Stadium. 

“My first time going into the stadium was (for) the Zach Bryan concert, and I think just standing there and being able to look at all the great players' names in the stadium and then just kind of seeing the atmosphere and trying to picture what a sold-out stadium is going to be like and just the energy involved. I can't wait. It's going to be a lot of fun.”

Thoughts About Cam Skattebo’s Situation

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

I’m currently working on my 53-man roster projection. Since I’ve had some questions about rookie running back Cam Skattebo, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury and who unfortunately had the setback a couple weeks ago, I could see a scenario where Skattebo is one of two players placed on “IR/Designated to Return” at the final cutdown date, as I don’t get a sense he’s going to be ready to start the season.

Remember, the IR rule was changed a few years ago. Whereas in the past, if a player landed on IR at the cutdown date, it meant that he was done for the year, the league changed the rule to allow for up to two players to be designated to return at the cutdown date.

I think this makes the most sense, plus it opens a roster spot for Dante Miller to make the team after what's been an encouraging preseason. 

As for Skattebo, he’d have to miss a minimum of four games, which will hopefully be enough for that hamstring to heal. Then, when he’s ready, the Giants can see where the roster is at before making any decisions on how to clear a spot for the rookie. 

When Might We See Andrew Thomas? 

New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas | Kevin Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s starting to get late early for the Giants and left tackle Andrew Thomas, who has been on the PUP list all summer as he looks to buy as much time as possible coming off his season-ending foot surgery last year. 

The question, though, is at what point will the team remove him from PUP (assuming he’s able to pass a physical), and will there be enough time for him to get ready for the upcoming season?

Thomas wasn’t going to get any preseason game snaps this summer anyway, so that allowed the Giants to leave him on PUP to continue his rehab for as long as possible. 

Looking ahead at the practice schedule, which is subject to change, the Gians are off Sunday, August 17. They’re in for what’s believed to be meetings and a walkthrough on the 18th, they practice on the 18th, have a walkthrough on the 20th, and the game is the 21st.

There’s no practice on the 22-23, with the 24th and 25th still to be determined. The 26th is cutdown day, the 28th is to be determined, and the players are off the 29th-31st.

Presumably, the Giants will activate Thomas off PUP no later than the 26th, when the roster needs to be trimmed to 53. If he can be ready to practice when the team returns on September 1 to get ready for the regular-season opener, that would give him a few days to get back into a groove.

Ideally, though, Thomas is activated on August 18, which would allow them to slowly ramp him up to where, by the week of September 1, when they go into regular-season game prep, he is ready to roll. 

And if, for some reason, Thomas still isn’t ready for Week 1, the worst-case scenario is that he’s inactive for the opening game, though the Giants would obviously like to avoid that.

Lessons from the Past

New York Giants CB Deonte Banks | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In case you’ve missed it, we’ve been running a “countdown to kickoff” series in which we highlight one Giants player per day who was the best to wear the jersey number corresponding with the number of days remaining until kickoff.

We’re up to No. 22 today (the great Dick Lynch being our pick), but yesterday, we paid tribute to a player who has a lot in common with current Giants cornerback Deonte Banks.

That player is Corey Webster. Webster was a second-round pick in 2005, and, like Banks (a first-round pick in 2023), Webster’s early years with the Giants had people wondering if the team wasted a pick on him.

But as Webster progressed in his career and learned how to take on the little things that made a difference between success and failure, he soon became a staple of two Super Bowl-winning Giants defenses. 

The lesson learned from following Webster is that the Giants didn’t give up on him or his talent. 

Similar to how things currently stand with Banks. Yes, Banks has struggled to find consistency, but as we noted last week, he wasn’t quite as bad as initially thought. 

And if the light continues to stay on for Banks, who knows? Perhaps he can join Webster as a draft pick initially thought to be a waste, who ended up being a solid contributor after all.

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