Giants Notebook: Remmers good to go, Jones No. 2 and more

After an uneasy two days in which the debut of the Giants new offensive line looked to be in doubt, it’s now full-steam head for the unit.

Starting right tackle Mike Remmers, who landed on the injury report listed with illness and with a back ailment, took his full practice reps Friday and was not on the team’s Friday injury report.

“He had a little bit of a bug or virus,” offensive line coach Hal Hunter said. “He wanted to practice the whole practice (Thursday), but I wouldn’t let him. He says he feels fine today, but I don’t know.

“Do you ever wake up one morning and you have a presentation to make and you’re like, ‘Of all days for me to get sick?’ But again, you fight through it and you go through it. He fought through it. He feels good today. I would say he’ll be ready to go.”

Those who were on the Giants injury report were tight end Garrett Dickerson (quad) and receiver Darius Slayton (hamstring), both of whom were declared out for Sunday.

Jones officially No. 2

No surprise here, but rookie quarterback Daniel Jones was officially named by head coach Pat Shurmur to be the primary backup to starter Eli Manning.

Shurmur also confirmed that the Giants will only dress two quarterbacks, meaning that Alex Tanney, whom the team kept over Kyle Lauletta because of what he brings to the quarterbacks' room, will be one of the inactive players.

Shurmur was asked where Jones has made the most progress since the spring.

“Knowledge of our scheme,” he said. “He’s able to get a good feel for some of the things that we ask him to do that he didn’t do in college. There are some elements to an NFL offense that he wasn’t asked to do in college.”

Shurmur grimaced when he was asked if Jones is at a point in his development where he’s ready to step in for Manning.

“He’s ready to go. If he has to go in and play, he’s ready to go.” Shurmur also said that the plan is to dress only two quarterbacks, which means Alex Tanney will be inactive Sunday.

Double Corners?

It’s rare when a team plans to alternate two players at one cornerback spot, but that’s what the giants are planning to do at left cornerback with rookie DeAndre Baker and veteran Antonio Hamilton.

“These guys are capable of both being the guy opposite Janoris (Jenkins),” said defensive backs coach Everett Withers.

“It’ll be great to get both of them in the game, expect both of them to play. We’re just going to try to see who emerges and gives us the opportunity to keep working in a real game situation, but they’re both capable of being the guy.”

Both Baker (knee) and Hamilton (adductor) have bene nursing injuries this summer, so it’s probably likely that’s what’s played into the decision to rotate both in an out of there—that and the fact that neither really pulled away with the starting job because of their injuries.

Withers said the hope is that someone grabs the starting job so that the rotation doesn’t have to continue for very long.

“I think both guys are growing, are getting better. They’ve both been out some time this camp, so for them to continue to grow in the position, and then hopefully, like any competition, you hope somebody emerges in the end and you hope you get the best guy out there.”

Roster Decisions

Shurmur said the team has no plans as of the moment to fill the roster spot that opened when they released linebacker Nate Stupar.

“We’re going to try to find the best player available,” he said. “There are certain issues that we feel like we might be able to add some depth. But we’ll see. Possibly by the weekend, but there’s potential that we don’t.”

The Giants have until 4 p.m. ET Saturday to make any moves, but it’s more likely that they’ll leave the roster spot open for now for a couple of reasons.

First, they will have to declare one less player inactive Sunday against the Cowboys. Second and more importantly, the giants are believed to be eyeing a veteran player to add to their roster.

By rule, any veteran players added to the roster after Week 1 will not have his entire 2019 salary guaranteed, which means should the Giants wish to cut a player they sign after Week 1, they will only be charged the prorated amount of that player’s salary against their 2019 salary cap.

Extra Points

Shurmur was asked about the temperature of the team and where it currently stands as it wrapped up the week of preparation ahead of its regular-season opener Sunday at Dallas.

“I think we had a good week of training,” he said. “That gives you a chance to have success on Sunday. You have to go do it. When you don’t train well, then Sundays are up for grabs. But when you do train well, you give yourself the best chance. I think that’s where we’re at.”

Add us as a preferred source on Google