John Jerry didn’t have a good year on or off the field with the Dolphins in 2013, which made it seem like the Giants were interested in rounding out their depth on the offensive line when they added Jerry to a depth chart at guard that already featured Geoff Schwartz and Chris Snee.
That may turn out to be the case, but offensive line coach Pat Flaherty isn’t closing the door on a bigger role for Jerry. Even after the offseason knee procedure that kept Jerry from working for almost the entire spring program, Flaherty sees Jerry “plugging right in” during camp and hopefully making a push for a starting job.
“Until I see more of everybody, I couldn’t tell you the starting lineup,” Flaherty said, via the Newark Star-Ledger. “It’s too early. I know I say this over and over again, and I firmly believe it, but I don’t know how much you can tell while you’re in gym shorts when it comes to the offensive line. They have to put their pads on people.”
Given the contract they gave Schwartz in free agency, Jerry’s best path to the lineup would seem to come at Snee’s right guard spot. Snee is coming off a season lost to a hip injury and also had elbow surgery this offseason, so there’s some question about how well he’ll hold up this season. Jerry and Brandon Mosley would be the candidates to nudge him out of the lineup, although we’ll see later this summer whether the talk of replacing a 10-year starter is lip service or something more serious.