The New York Giants have dealt with significant injuries over the past few seasons to their primary playmakers on offense. Whether it be the MetLife turf or just excessive usage during practice, you could point to a myriad of different factors impacting the health of the players.
However, the Giants were hoping to roll into trading camp with a mostly healthy roster. On Thursday morning, it was announced that rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger would be placed on the physically unable to perform list ahead of training camp.
If Bellinger isn’t activated prior to the start of the regular season, he will miss a minimum of four weeks, which would be a tough blow to the offense.
Oh lord, the New York Giants have placed Daniel Bellinger on the physically unable to perform list with a quad injury, per @Dan_Salomone
Hopefully, it's nothing too serious.
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) July 21, 2022
The New York Giants are excited about the impact of Bellinger:
Bellinger looked strong during mandatory minicamp, showcasing his receiving abilities frequently. With San Diego State in 2021, Bellinger recorded 353 yards and two touchdowns while posting a 4.2% drop rate in his career. He didn’t drop a single pass last season, which will be music to Giants fans’ ears.
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The other tight ends on the roster include Ricky Seals-Jones and Jordan Akins, two free agent signings by the Giants this off-season. Seals-Jones will immediately assume the TE1 role with Bellinger working his way back. This could hurt his growth and development as a rookie, pushing back his timeline to take over the starting TE role.
Nonetheless, Daniel is working diligently to improve his game and attack the small details that differentiate college and professional football.
“This level is a lot more particular on the small details, whether it’s one-foot step, one kind of leverage on a route, compared to college,” the rookie said on the Giants Huddle podcast. “College wasn’t as particular on the small details because sometimes you’re just straight up better than the guy across from you. But at this level, everybody is good. More often than not, the guy across from you is going to be better. So, in order to beat him, you have to win with small details and the small technical things in that kind of aspect.”