Giants Impressed With Backfield, Cut RB: New York Tracker

AUG 12 RB CUT The New York Giants have waived running back Jacob Saylors, who'd been a standout in the UFL.

Saylors has bounced around the NFL in his short time, both with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons.

In New York, he faced an uphill battle - even in a post-Saquon Barkley time - as the Giants are increasingly pleased with the Devin Singletary-led running backs room.

AUG 7 – DABOLL X NABERS – New York Giants rookie receiver is destined to be the focal point of the passing offense. He has the athleticism, pedigree, and polish to tack lofty expectations onto, and he’s delivered through much of the summer circuit.

But before he earns the trust of fantasy managers and the fan base alike, he must impress head coach Brian Daboll and quarterback Daniel Jones.

So far, so good.

Daboll spoke on Tuesday about the steps Nabers has taken, including how he looked against the Detroit Lions during joint practices.

“(He showed) what he’s showed all camp,” Daboll said, via Giants.com . “Competitive. Knows what to do. Been playing at a high level in practice, see if that translates to the games. I have a lot of confidence in Malik.”

AUG 5 – FIGHT NIGHT – Every year, joint practices come with their fair share of skirmishes. It’s finally another opportunity to hit someone who isn’t on your team, and with the competitive juices flowing, theatrics are almost inevitable.

It took the New York Giants all of one practice to get a season’s worth of fights in against the Detroit Lions.

The punches weren’t pulled after just one fight, either, as captured by The Athletic's Giants reporters.

New York was involved in several fights on Monday. The first began with Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and chippy defensive back Dru Phillips .

The next time around, it was quarterback Daniel Jones getting his hands dirty (and scaring the hell out of the coaching staff).

A third fight would break out, featuring Joe Schoen clearing out some of his players .

There was supposedly some actual practice done on the first day of joint practices, but everything worth remembering came in the form of shoves and slaps.

AUG 4 – EZEUDU OKAY – The New York Giants suffered a scare on Friday when swing tackle Joshua Ezeudu was limping and eventually carted off the field.

New York has had no shortage of scares so far up front after Jermaine Eluemunor’s bruise to begin camp – fortunately he’s back – Evan Neal’s PUP list placement, and John Michael Schmitz’s shoulder injury.

Like with Eluemunor, the Giants came out relatively unscathed this time around.

According to Jordan Raanan , Ezeudu’s Friday ended after a dehydration issue, exacerbated by the summer heat.

Fortunately for New York, that shouldn’t hold him out for upcoming practices, so Giants fans holding their breath can exhale.

AUG 2 – EZEUDU OFF – The New York Giants offensive line may have taken another hit on Friday.

During practice, offensive tackle Joshua Ezeudu was limping before ultimately being carted off the field, per Charlotte Carroll .

The extent of his injury is not yet known.

Ezeudu received first-team reps at left tackle and left guard at practice and by most accounts struggled against a strong Giants defensive line.

Even so, New York’s offensive line cannot afford much more adversity. Jermaine Eluemunor is back at full strength, but Evan Neal is still on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and center John Michael Schmitz is dealing with a shoulder injury. Losing Ezeudu would be a significant dent in the team’s depth up front.

AUG 1 – NEW MONTH, NEW MAN – It’s been a bumpy training camp for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

To some extent that’s to be expected. He’s just eight months removed from tearing his ACL, and it’s impressive that he’s a full-go for training camp. Of course there’s going to be some rust to shake off.

To start the new month, however, Jones looked the part. His best play of the day? Hitting receiver Malik Nabers for a long touchdown .

Nabers, whose athleticism makes him a consistent downfield threat, beat cornerback Cor’Dale Flott, who is currently expected to start on the boundary.

There’s no need to overreact to training camp clips, but for Giants fans looking to see a good day from Jones, Thursday’s practice was a welcome development.

JULY 29 – NO NEAL – The New York Giants began their training camp on July 24. They did so without third-year offensive tackle Evan Neal.

Neal spent the offseason recovering from an ankle injury, but had not progressed to full health as quickly as New York had hoped. Subsequently he was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list ahead of camp.

Head coach Brian Daboll gave a brief update regarding Neal’s return on Sunday.

“It’s day to day,” Daboll said, courtesy of SNY . “Each day he’s getting better, when he’s ready to go, he’ll be ready to go.”

Offensive tackles Jermaine Eluemunor and Joshua Ezeudu have taken the bulk of reps in his absence, with the former figuring to compete for the starting job if Neal struggles to get on the field and perform well upon his arrival.

JULY 28 – THEO TIME – After a brief stint on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, New York Giants rookie tight end made his training camp debut on Sunday.

Johnson missed the first three days of practices before being activated on July 28. He was dealing with a hip flexor problem, although at no point was it serious enough to garner legitimate concern from Johnson or the team.

He spoke to reporters about his training camp debut and his health after practice.

“It’s good,” he said . “I feel great out there, I mean I feel like I looked pretty good out there when I got out on the open field, so I feel good.”

Johnson is expected to compete for snaps this summer and eventually fill the role tight end Darren Waller held in New York’s passing offense