The New York Giants wrapped up their first practice of the summer on Wednesday, kicking off training camp in preparation for the upcoming 2024 season. It was an eventful first practice with plenty of takeaways and intriguing stories coming out of East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Daniel Jones is fully healthy and ready to go
Starting quarterback Daniel Jones is bouncing back from a torn ACL suffered in Week 9 and has been cleared for 11-on-11 drills, which he participated in during Wednesday’s practice. “He’s getting all the reps” with the ones, Daboll said, per Dan Salomone.
Jones looked healthy and mobile during Wednesday’s practice, extending plays and getting on the move as he escaped the pocket. He rolled out and completed a nice pass on the run to Darius Slayton who made a toe-tapping grab on the sideline:
It’s significant that Jones is healthy at the start of training camp despite suffering the injury in November. He has worked diligently in preparation for training camp and met his goal of being ready to rock from the first practice. Jones will be embarking on the most important season of his career as he attempts to keep the Giants from finding his replacement next offseason.
The Giants’ offensive line already took a significant blow
About an hour into practice, the Giants’ offensive line took a significant blow as Jermaine Eluemunor went down with an injury. Eluemunor opened camp as the team’s starting right tackle with Evan Neal on the PUP list.
The Giants signed Eluemunor in free agency this offseason. The 29-year-old veteran offensive lineman started 14 games for the Las Vegas Raiders last season at right tackle, earning a 68.7 overall PFF grade as he surrendered just 28 total pressures and six sacks across 905 total offensive snaps.
Eluemunor suffered the injury after taking a blow to the upper body from DT Dexter Lawrence. The significance of the injury is currently unclear, however, the veteran tackle did wave off the cart after walking off to the sideline under his own power. The Giants are hoping the injury does not keep Eluemunor sidelined for long.
Third-year OL Joshua Ezeudu took the snaps at right tackle after Eluemunor went down.
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HC Brian Daboll is taking over as the play-caller on offense
Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen spoke with the media ahead of practice on Wednesday morning, providing insight into their plans for the summer. Daboll told reporters that the Giants are still “working through” a final play-calling decision, but that he would be taking over as the play-caller for the summer.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has been calling the plays on offense for the last two seasons. That is likely to change this year as Daboll is preparing to take over the play-calling duties for the 2024-25 season. However, there is still a full summer of practices and preseason games left to determine whether or not Daboll will be taking the playsheet.
