The New York Giants are gearing up for a late afternoon contest against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8. Big Blue has their BYE in Week 9, offering them a bit of time to get healthy for the final stretch of the season, but they will be a bit thin against Seattle on Sunday.
Hosting a 6–1 record, the Giants have outperformed all expectations this season thanks to elite coaching and execution from signature players.
However, they will be without two of their starting offensive lineman and rookie tight end, Daniel Bellinger. Evan Neal escaped being placed on injured reserve with an MCL sprain, but Ben Bredeson will miss the next four games.
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The New York Giants get some big OL reinforcements:
The team did reinstate Nick Gate earlier this week, who will be active on Sunday as a reserve offensive lineman and jumbo tight end option. Gates is coming off a significant leg injury, fracturing two parts that required seven surgeries to correct.
After a heroic recovery, he’s finally able to return to football after fears that his playing days might be over, let alone his ability to walk. In addition to Nick making it back on the active roster, the Giants also activated pass rusher Elerson Smith, who has missed significant time over the last two years.
With the Giants placing Azeez Ojulari on IR, they had an extra roster spot to utilize on Smith. In addition, they elevated veteran safety Landon Collins and tight end Lawrence Cager, who the team recently acquired from the New York Jets. Given the Jets’ solid TE room, Cager was unable to crack the active roster but showcased solid receiving capabilities as a former WR during his collegiate days.
Clearly, Big Bue is thin at multiple positions, notably in the trenches. However, they’ve been utilizing the “next-man-up” approach all season long which has served them well, as long as each individual player does their job and executes.