Giants Clips
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.'s return to the Giants didn’t come with any guarantees that he’ll land a spot on the 53-man roster, but he’s doing his best to make the case for one at training camp.
Reporters at the team’s practices this week made note of a strong pair of days for Beckham on Tuesday and Wednesday. That included snaps with the first team as Beckham tries to win a job in a group that also includes Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Calvin Austin, Darnell Mooney, third-round pick Malachi Fields, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios.
After the practice, Beckham said he “it’s definitely challenging” being part of a deep group because it limits the chances he has to show why he believes “I can play at a high level.” He also said that it helps that he’s finding it easier to do that as he gets more time in the offense under his belt.
“I feel like I’m getting better. I feel like with repetition, with mistakes, unfortunately I’m one of those people who has to touch the stove to know that it’s hot and to not touch it again, so I learn from a mistake and it’s like, all right, that’s something that I corrected,” Beckham said, via a transcript from the team. “So, I definitely feel like I’m getting better. There’s definitely been more opportunities. It’s just a combination of both. But kind of just fizzle all that out and I’m just like — I’m just locked in the moment. I’m truly grateful for being where my feet are at and just trying to enjoy that each and every day and bring the best energy that I can.”
Beckham does not play special teams and that will make it hard for him to secure a roster spot unless he’s clearly shown that he can make an impact on offense. The last few days have shown signs of that and his quest to finish the job will continue to be a storyline for the rest of the month.
The Patriots are taking a look at a veteran offensive lineman on Thursday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that guard Greg Van Roten is visiting the team.
Van Roten spent the last two seasons with the Giants and started every game over that period. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Packers in 2012 and has also played for the Panthers, Jets, Bills and Raiders.
Van Roten has appeared in 148 games and made 105 starts across all of those stops.
The Patriots signed Alijah Vera-Tucker as a free agent this offseason and he is expected to start at guard with Mike Onwenu.
Giants defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris tore his Achilles during the team’s offseason program, but they put him on the physically unable to perform list rather than injured reserve to open training camp.
That move kept some hope alive for a return late in the season, but that’s no longer the case. The Giants placed Robertson-Harris on injured reserve Wednesday and the timing precludes him being activated this year.
The Giants also waived wide receiver Beaux Collins with an injury designation on Wednesday. Collins will revert to injured reserve if he’s unclaimed.
Defensive backs David Long and D.J. James were signed to fill the two open roster spots. Long has played in 86 games for the Rams, Raiders, Panthers, Packers and Colts. James was a Seahawks sixth-round pick in 2024 and he played in one game for the Patriots last season.
Things are getting a little chippy for the Giants at The Greenbrier.
Via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, a rushing touchdown from quarterback Jaxson Dart during a red-zone drill resulted in Dart throwing the ball at cornerback Greg Newsome’s helmet. Newsome, per Leonard, didn’t appreciate the gesture.
After practice, coach John Harbaugh was asked what he thought of it.
“I think it’s a 15-yard penalty for taunting,” Harbaugh said.
As a result, Harbaugh pushed the extra-point attempt back by 15 yards.
Harbaugh added that he shouldn’t have to say anything to Dart about it, because the in-game ramifications of such a maneuver are obvious.
The Giants had their first padded practice of the summer on Monday and one of the newest members of the team stood out during the session.
Reporters at the practice singled out first-round pick Arvell Reese as the main attraction. The linebacker stuffed running backs at the line, made plays in pass coverage and was credited with a sack of Jaxson Dart over the course of the sessions.
That’s the kind of multifaceted impact on defense that made Reese a prized prospect and it left head coach John Harbaugh singing the rookie’s praises.
“Very encouraged,” Harbaugh said, via a transcript from the team. “I think he looked good today from what I could see. I can’t wait to see the tape, but he’s playing really well. He’s been playing well the whole camp since he got here. . . . You see the talent, obviously. I think he’s very sharp for a first-year guy. He gets things right pretty much all the time, makes very few mistakes. He’s a very serious-minded guy, and he’s very determined. I mean, he’s doing things well.”
After the Giants picked Reese, there were questions about how the Giants would deploy him in their defense. They settled on using him as an off-ball linebacker, but the early days of training camp show that Reese could have a wide-ranging impact come the fall.
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart says he and his teammates are lining up behind new head coach John Harbaugh.
Asked about Harbaugh on NFL Network, Dart identified one thing that makes him special as a coach: “His leadership.”
“The way that he carries himself as an individual, a man, it’s something you can really, really respect, day in and day out,” Dart continued. “The biggest thing is, he’s never trying to change anybody from who they are, but he’s putting out his culture, his plan, and it’s for us to buy into it. That’s really cool to have, when you have all these different guys coming in to a brand new system, who have different experiences, some of us being younger, a lot of the vets, but we’re all buying into the exact same plan because we trust him, because of how great of a coach he is and the man he is as well.”
The Giants have struggled to find coaching stability since the departure of Tom Coughlin, going from Ben McAdoo to Pat Shurmur to Joe Judge to Brian Daboll. Dart thinks they’ve brought in the right guy in Harbaugh.
The Jets picked up a new defensive lineman on Saturday.
They announced the signing of Ben Barten to the 90-man roster. Barten has some familiarity with the area as he was cut by the Giants earlier this week.
Barten signed with the Giants after he went undrafted out of Wisconsin this year. He had 24 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack for the Badgers last season.
The Jets waived long snapper Garrison Grimes in a corresponding move. Grimes went to BYU and was also undrafted this year.
Veteran Thomas Hennessy is now the only long snapper in camp with the Jets.
As a rookie, Giants outside linebacker Abdul Carter earned two benchings, totaled four sacks and finished fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He has a much bigger goal for his second season.
“I want to be Defensive Player of the Year,” Carter said, via Darryl Slater of nj.com.
Carter “absolutely” thinks it is realistic and laid out the reasons.
“Just my process and knowing who I can be — and a belief in myself,“ Carter said. ”I know what I’m capable of. I can be whoever I want to be.”
Carter had moments when he showed why he was the third overall pick, but he also proved unreliable with his habitual tardiness.
“Everything happened the way it was supposed to,” Carter said. “I learned from it, moved on from it. So I’m ready to go.”
Giants running back Cam Skattebo’s flubbed attempt at a backflip earlier this month earned him a meeting with head coach John Harbaugh.
Harbaugh said this week that the message to Skattebo was that he needs to take care of himself and do what he can to be healthy. Skattebo, who missed the second half of his rookie season with a dislocated ankle, said on Friday that the message was received loud and clear.
“Obviously I do some dumb things here or there, but I learn from it,” Skattebo said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. “My coach talked to me and told me how he felt. I learned from it. Will I go do that backflip again? Probably not. We live and we learn and we move on.”
Skattebo has deployed the backflip to celebrate touchdowns in the past and he didn’t rule out doing them in that setting in the future. As long as points are going on the board and Skattebo has a cleaner finish, the Giants are likely to have a little less of an issue with the gymnastics.
The first days of Giants training camp featured a lot of positive reports about how wide receiver Malik Nabers has healed from last season’s torn ACL, but there were none to add to the list on Friday.
Nabers did not practice with the rest of the team on the third day of camp, but head coach John Harbaugh said that the day off was part of the effort to get Nabers ready for the start of the regular season after such a long layoff.
“I think it’s part of the process,” Harbaugh said, via Mike Garafolo of NFL Media. “These guys will work through it. Every single day, it’ll be what it is that given day. He’s worked real hard, he’s made a lot of progress and that’s what we decided to do today.”
Nabers declined to put a target date on a full return when he was asked about playing in Week 1 this week, but that’s obviously the goal and the wideout’s practice schedule will continue to be managed with that in mind.
