The Giants lost defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris to an Achilles tear this month and they had another member of the team go down with an apparent injury at Friday’s OTA practice.
According to multiple reporters in attendance at the practice, wide receiver Gunner Olszewski went down with a non-contact injury during a drill. The workout took a pause while Olszewski was attended to on the field and he was carted off for further evaluation. There’s been no word from the team about his condition.
Olszewski has spent the last three seasons with the Giants and he re-signed with the team this offseason. He had 10 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown last season and he’s been the team’s lead punt returner when healthy.
Someone else will have to fill that role if Olszewski’s injury is a severe one, but any decisions on that front will wait for a full diagnosis.
On Wednesday, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart addressed his teammates regarding his recent introduction of President Trump at a New York rally. One key teammate wasn’t there.
Via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, linebacker Abdul Carter was absent on Wednesday, due to family obligations related to a religious holiday.
Which raises a fair question. Why not do the meeting when Carter was present?
If one of the topics of the meeting included the importance of keeping issues in house, it would make sense to wait for the guy whose decision to air out dirty laundry turned into an unwanted imbroglio for the Giants. From Carter’s perspective, he’s surely wondering what was said and how players reacted to the comments.
Also, he surely would have had something to say to the room about why he did what he did.
And so, while some are characterizing the situation as resolved, how can it be truly resolved if one of the key players in the incident wasn’t there when the team hashed it out.
On Friday, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart decided to engage in an inherently political act. On Wednesday, he engaged in an inherently janitorial act.
Via NFL Network, Dart addressed his teammates to discuss his introduction of President Donald Trump during a rally in New York.
Per the report (as described by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network), “Other team leaders spoke up as well, and Dart and the players worked through it. They are moving forward.” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds that Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Jameis Winston spoke during the meeting.
According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN, one of the topics was the importance of keeping things “internal” and not airing frustrations publicly.
Unless the Giants have mastered the science of time travel, they have no choice but to “move forward.” The question is whether the situation has ended for now, or whether it’s truly over.
Despite the intense criticism that has been directed at linebacker Abdul Carter for his Saturday morning social-media reaction to the situation (and Carter should not have aired out internal laundry publicly), Dart created the issue by doing something he didn’t have to do.
There was a time when an opportunity to introduce the leader of the free world could be separated from the personal political views of the person making the introduction. Those days are over, especially in the current climate. (Also, Dart’s personal politics apparently align with the current occupant of the White House.)
The mere fact that Dart addressed the team, that other team leaders “spoke up,” and that they “worked through it” proves it was not the proverbial nothing burger. It was an unforced error for Dart, compounded by Carter’s public reaction.
Internally, the Giants did what they needed to do. There will inevitably be an external component, the next time Dart, Carter, and others are available to speak to reporters.
At that point, the questions and the answers will be potentially enlightening. If all relevant questions are asked.
The Giants are near the bottom of the NFL in available cap space, but they’ve given themselves some room by restructuring the contract of one of their most expensive players.
Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas restructured his contract Wednesday, creating $6.46 million in cap space for this season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
As players routinely do, Thomas had some of his base salary converted to bonus money that can be spread out over future years’ salary caps. Thomas is under contract through 2029 thanks to the five-year, $117.5 million extension he signed with the Giants in 2023.
The $6.46 million will still be accounted for on the Giants’ salary cap, just not this season. Next year the Giants are projected to be near the top of the NFL in available cap space, so it makes sense for the Giants to push some of that cap accounting forward and give themselves more room to operate this year.
As it turns out, there’s a limit to the power of FIFA.
Soccer’s international governing body has managed to dictate terms to those who will be hosting World Cup matches, compelling NFL stadiums to rip up artificial turf and install acceptable grass fields. FIFA may have met its match, however, with the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey.
Via Ben Horney of Front Office Sports, New York attorney general Letitia James and New Jersey attorney general Jennifer Davenport have subpoenaed FIFA amid an investigation regarding ticketing practices that have resulted in obscene prices for eight matches to be played at MetLife Stadium. The venue also will be hosting the final game.
“New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets,” James said in a statement. “No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive.”
“Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated,” Davenport said. “But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices — all at the expense of consumers and hardworking New Jerseyans.”
The objective is to determine how FIFA developed its pricing model. It will be interesting to see whether FIFA fully cooperates, or whether it attempts to obstruct and/or delay the process.
It’s one thing for market dynamics to dictate price. It’s another thing for games to be played in order to gouge consumers and to freeze out those who can’t afford to pay the exorbitant prices.
