New York Giants Notebook: An Upcoming Reunion, Captain Logan, and More

Some leftover odds and ends from the New York Giants' Monday practice.

Catching Up with Old Friends. This weekend Giants tight end Kyle Rudolph will see a couple of familiar faces from his days with the Minnesota Vikings, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, both now with the Broncos.

"Yeah, he definitely will be one of those guys that hopefully after the game, after a win, I can go see him and say hi and ask him how he’s doing and how his family’s doing," Rudolph said of Shurmur.

"He’s certainly one of the guys that I have a great affinity for in this game and I have a ton of respect for. I had him as a position coach, and I had him as a coordinator and he’s as good of a human being as they come and he’s equally as good of a coach."

The Giants tight end is also hoping to have a chance to say hello to Bridgewater, who was recently named the Broncos starting quarterback by head coach Vic Fangio.

"I couldn’t be happier for Teddy, for his opportunity to be the starting quarterback. He deserves it," Rudolph said. "What he went through when we were together, the fact that he’s even playing football right now is a true testament to him and his work ethic."

Rudolph smiled when asked if he thought he might be of help to his defensive teammates, given his knowledge of Bridgewater and Shurmur.

"Yeah, I’m pretty familiar with this quarterback and that offense on the other side. I played in it for a few years as well, so if they ever have any questions, I’m here to help," he said.

Giants All Clear (So Far). A tweet by ESPN insider Chris Mortensen raised a very good--and legitimate--concern Monday morning about the health statuses of players returning from a long three-day weekend off, particularly those who went to visit with their alma maters for the opening weekend of college football.

Talked or text with number of NFL coaches/execs who are nervous about COVID-19 testing today with the number of players who visited their former college teams’ opening games (and social gatherings) this past weekend.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) September 6, 2021

The good news, at least from a Giants perspective, is that none of the players or coaches tested positive Monday for COVID-19, according to head coach Joe Judge.

"Yeah, from everything we’ve been told at this point right now, they were," Judge said Monday.

With vaccines now widely available, the league has relaxed some of the COVID-19 restrictions in place last year governing where and what players could do during the pandemic. Those relaxed restrictions apply to players and staff who have been fully vaccinated.

That said, Judge revealed that he reminded the players about being smart before they scattered around the country for their recently concluded long weekend.

"We just talked to our team and hit them again in a squad meeting about being safe, just making sure that we take the measures we have to. It’s the same conversation that we started camp with, the same thing," he said.

"There are protocols in place whether you’re vaccinated or unvaccinated and whatever the protocols are to you, you have to follow them. We’ll support everybody as long as you follow the protocols."

Judge added that he's been pleased with the players' response.

"I would say that our team has done a tremendous job. We haven’t had to have one meeting or anything this training camp to tell guys to space out or put on masks.

"They’ve all been very in tune, very respectful of each other and each other’s status," Judge said.

"So we have to stay on them and remind those guys just to make sure that we make all the right decisions, that we don’t put ourselves in a position that could cost somebody some time on the field unnecessarily."

Logan's New Name. A year ago, defensive back Logan Ryan no longer wanted to be known as just a cornerback, not after he had worked so hard to transition to safety.

Well, one year later, Ryan now has another title he'd like attached to his name--and one well deserved.

"It’s captain Logan now, guys," he told reporters Monday with a laugh after revealing that he was one of seven team captains chosen by his peers. "That’s how I want to go from here on out. I’m telling my wife to call me that and my kids. I’m excited."

In all seriousness, Ryan has been a consummate professional and team leader since he signed with the Giants late last summer. Although he now has the "C" added to his gameday jersey, he's not about to change.

"No, it’s no change in my day to day," the first-time NFL team captain said. "The peers voted for me, so honestly, I just don’t want to disappoint them, and I take that seriously. I think there’s a responsibility you have to have. I think there’s a responsibility you have to have as the leader of the locker room, which I always try to say I was – to really understand and make sure the coaching staff and the players are on the same page at what that may be."

Receiver Collin Johnson and offensive lineman Billy Price practiced with the Giants for the first time Monday after being acquired off waivers and via trade, respectively, last week. Each player had to clear the COVID-19 entry protocols.

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