The Giants are slow-playing Andrew Thomas, and the whole offense is riding on it

Andrew Thomas was on the practice field this spring, and the Giants made a point of keeping him off the most important parts of it. The All-Pro left tackle was held out of 11-on-11 work through OTAs as part of a deliberate ramp-up, managing a lingering shoulder issue on top of the right foot that has shadowed him since 2024, per NBC Sports.

None of that is a red flag on its own. It becomes one when you remember what the rest of the roster is built to do. John Harbaugh is installing a downhill, run-first offense, and that identity runs through the blindside tackle who anchors it.

The plan is patience, not panic

Thomas had surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury in his right foot in October 2024 and was limited to six games that season. Last season, he was mostly healthy, appearing in 13 games — his most games played in a season since 2016. He missed the first two weeks of the year, ramping back up from that Lisfranc injury, and then missed the last two weeks of the season while dealing with a hamstring injury. Then he returned to the team for practice this spring and is already nursing a “lingering” shoulder injury.

The Giants are not rushing the recovery. That is the correct approach for a 27-year-old cornerstone with an extensive injury history and a lingering shoulder ailment that can only get worse if mishandled. Patience now is the price of having him in September.

The front office already protected the asset

The Giants have made their valuation of Thomas clear in dollars. He signed a five-year, $117.5 million extension in 2023 that runs through 2029, a deal that included an offensive-line-record $67 million guaranteed at signing, per Spotrac. This offseason, they restructured that contract, converting base salary to a roster bonus to clear roughly $6.46 million in cap space.

You do not pay a tackle at that level, then restructure to keep him, and then gamble his foot on meaningless spring snaps. The money and the medical caution are telling the same story.

The offense has no Plan B

The Giants spent the offseason committing to the run, adding fullback Patrick Ricard and using a first-round pick on the offensive line in RG Francis Mauigoa. That blueprint assumes elite play at left tackle. Thomas is a two-time second-team All-Pro who has anchored top-five rushing offenses when healthy. The drop from him to a backup is the difference between Harbaugh’s vision and a stalled one.

The depth behind him does not inspire the same confidence, which is exactly why ramping him up is crucial. A healthy Thomas in Week 1 makes the entire offensive plan credible. Anything less, and the Giants are running a power scheme without their most important blocker. The spring caution is the bet that gets them the version they paid for.

By Anthony Rivardo

Anthony Rivardo is the COO of Empire Sports Media and the host of Fireside Giants, a New York Giants ... More about Anthony Rivardo