The New York Giants are adding another veteran offensive lineman. On Tuesday, the team has agreed to sign offensive guard Greg Van Roten, who spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders . The player has been in the NFL since 2012. The move was first reported by USA Today's reporter Art Stapleton.
As a corresponding move, the Giants waived cornerback Aaron Robinson with a failed physical designation.
Even though Greg Van Roten is an experienced veteran in the NFL, he has rarely had opportunities to be a full-time player. His most consistent stint happened between 2018 and 2019, when he started most of those seasons at left guard for the Carolina Panthers. Last season, he had the second season with the most snaps in his career, playing 1,024 offensive snaps at right guard for the Raiders. It was also his best performance, with a solid 77.4 pass blocking grade and a 68.5 run block grade by PFF.
Van Roten originally signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Since, he has played for the Seattle Seahawks, Toronto Argonauts (CFL), Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Las Vegas Raiders.
Meaning for the Giants
Adding more pieces to the offensive line has been an obvious priority for general manager Joe Schoen and the Giants' front office this year. They added tackles Jermaine Eluemunor (who's been hurt in camp) and Matt Nelson, guards Jon Runyan and Aaron Stinnie, plus center Austin Schlottmann in free agency. The Giants also signed tackle Marcellus Johnson and guard Jake Kubas as undrafted free agents.
On offseason Hard Knocks , Schoen highlighted how important it would be for the Giants to have a better offensive line to give quarterback Daniel Jones a fair shot at producing at a solid level.
"He didn't have much of a chance this year," Schoen said. "That's legit. The core guys that were gonna play together played 60 snaps together. Miami, we got three f***ing practice squad guys playing for us. You could have Pat Mahomes, he can't f***ing win behind that."
Left tackle Andrew Thomas is certainly the most reliable piece of the offensive line. However, he ended up playing only 52.25% of the snaps last season because of injuries.
Throughout the season, nine offensive linemen played at least 20% of the team's offensive snaps: Thomas, Ben Bredeson (91.85%), Justin Pugh (69.20%), John Michael Schmitz (68.48%), Tyre Phillips (50.09%), Mark Glowinski (47.1%), Evan Neal (41.58%), Marcus McKethan (34.24%), and Joshua Ezeudu (24%).
That's why Schoen wants offensive line depth, and that's exactly what Greg Van Roten has to offer at this point of his career. He won't shine, and you probably won't win because of him. But he can be a good backup, solid eventual starter, and you won't lose because of him either — and these types of players are still valuable in the NFL.
Related: When and how the New York Giants can get rid of Daniel Jones' contract
Most Popular
Comments / 0