John Jerry has 'moved on' from scandal in Miami

John Jerry met the media for the first time Tuesday as a member of the New York Giants. Jerry, the former offensive guard with the Miami Dolphins who was implicated in the bullying of Jonathan Martin, did not want to talk about what happened in Miami.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm focused on nothing but the Giants, and this season coming up," Jerry said. "I've moved on from that. That's in the past."

Unfortunately for Jerry, it isn't nearly that simple. Like it or not, he will always be connected to the bullying of then-teammate Jonathan Martin, and the Wells Report is always going to detail a great many not-so-nice things that Jerry allegedly took part in when it comes to Martin.

When the Giants signed Jerry general manager Jerry Reese said the team "did our homework on John ... We were satisfied with the answers we got about John as a player and person."

For his part, the 28-year-old fifth-year player said he was completely forthright with the Giants when they signed him in March.

"I told them everything that went on. I have nothing to lie about. They know everything," Jerry said.

He is also not worried about what fans might think of him.

"I can't control that. People are going to think what they want to think of you. I know that's out of my hands," Jerry said. "Pretty much all fans care about is you going out there and perform and getting them Ws.

"At the end of the day the only people I really care about are the guys in the locker room. I think the guys in the locker room have a pretty good feel for who I am."

The larger question, in the end, is whether or not Jerry can help the Giants on the field. With the retirement of Chris Snee, Jerry, Brandon Mosley and Weston Richburg appear to be competing for the job as the starter at right guard.

The 6-foot-5, 340-pound Jerry started at right guard for the past two seasons in Miami. He is, however, used to having to earn his spot.

"If you look back on my history I've been competing for a job my whole career, so it's always been a battle between me and somebody else."

When the Giants first signed Jerry we reached out to Kevin Nogle, editor of SB Nation's Dolphins web site, The Phinsider, and Nogle had this to say about Jerry as a player:

"Jerry was a solid player, but was never dominating in his time with the Dolphins.  He was able to do his job for the most part, but would often leave fans wanting more from the starting right guard.  He's a player who still could reach a higher level of play, but has seemed content with simply holding on to his starting position. ...

"He's a good, solid player who has the potential to be something special, but just doesn't seem to have the desire to reach that potential. Every year, competition was brought in for him, and every year, he would win the position - but it was always a battle."

Jerry took only a few reps on Tuesday as he works his way back.

"The main thing for me right now is to get into shape. I missed so much time in the spring," Jerry said. "We've got that extra preseason game. That will definitely help me out."

Whether or not Jerry ends up helping the Giants remains to be seen. If he can do that, perhaps he can also help ease the stain the Bully-gate scandal left on his reputation.