Despite the New York and Boston rivalry and two Super Bowl matchups, there’s an obvious connection between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. Everyone knows about Bill Belichick going from the Giants to the Patriots, but current Giants head coach Joe Judge is also a part of that connection as a member of Belichick’s coaching tree.
That connection, it seems, could result in joint practices between both teams this preseason.
The report comes from ESPN’s Mike Reiss, who says the logistics of the practices are still up in the air.
The Patriots have known their opponents for some time, and if everything comes together with COVID-19 considerations, joint practices with the Eagles and Giants could be finalized. One possibility discussed, but is not official at this point, is having the Patriots-Giants practices in Foxborough, even though the game will be played in East Rutherford, N.J.
Interestingly enough, the practices could happen in New England even though the preseason game between the teams is set to happen in New Jersey.
That preseason game will also be the finale for both teams, as the fourth preseason game was axed as part of the league’s expanded schedule beginning this year.
The Giants will have another game in January instead of what would be the final preseason matchup, in a change from the previous norm.
We’ve known for a while that Judge is bringing some traits from the New England and Alabama organizations to the Giants after taking over as head coach, so it should be interesting to see if the Giants take anything new away from practicing with the Patriots themselves.