Giants conclude first practice: Here are 10 takeaways

The first training camp practice of 2016 is in the books for the New York Giants. And yes, it really happened, even though no one other than the media saw it because it was moved indoors due to early-morning inclement weather.

Here are some of the takeaways from Friday’s practice.

Milhouse’s moment to shine

The Giants are without Damon “Snacks” Harrison and Jay Bromley, both on PUP, and Melvin Lewis, who on the Non-Football Injury list. That left Greg Milhouse, the first NFL player from Campbell, to line up with the starters on Friday. Chris Pflum has more about Milhouse.

• Greg Milhouse roster profile

Giants make roster moves

The Giants held a free-agent workout after practice and with only four defensive tackles available, they made a pair of roster moves to supplement the position, adding defensive tackles Jermelle Cudjo and Davon Coleman. To make room on the roster, the waived wide receiver Donte Foster and defensive tackle Melvin Lewis. Lewis was on the Non-Football Injury list. Cudjo, 6-1 and 300 pounds, played in 45 games with four starts with St. Louis and Detroit from 2010-15. Coleman, 6-1 and 295 pounds, played in four games with one start for the Dallas Cowboys in 2014-15. (Read more about Cudjo and Coleman)

Here we go again with Victor Cruz

Victor Cruz is back on the field, trying to come back for the second straight season. Will he make it this time? The Cruz Watch is on, and we take a closer look.

An awesome inside look

This did not happen at practice, but I have to bring it to your attention. McAdoo allowed Michael Eisen of Giants.com and staff photographers and videographers exclusive access Friday morning as he prepped for his first training camp practice as head coach.

The result? A spectacular inside look at how McAdoo and his staff got themselves and their players ready to practice. You will love the speech to players at their pre-practice team meeting. We’ve heard about how McAdoo can command a room. This gives us the opportunity to see it and hear it.

Giants curious about Logan Thomas

At the end of mandatory minicamp, the Giants parted with quarterback B.J. Daniels and claimed Logan Thomas off waivers from the Miami Dolphins. The Giants are Thomas’s third organization in three NFL seasons. McAdoo explained why the Giants wanted a look at him.

“He’s a young man who’s played some football in this league. We feel that he has a high ceiling. He has some good arm strength to him. He’s a big man, he’s a smart man. It’ll be interesting to see and we’re excited to work with him to try to bring out his natural athleticism.”

Eli tired of wasted seasons

The Giants haven’t made the playoffs in four years. At 35, quarterback Eli Manning knows there are more chances in his rearview mirror than ahead of him. He said Friday that he doesn’t want to miss any more opportunities.

“I think you want to take advantage of every year. You feel like every year you have an opportunity to do something special and make the playoffs. You don't want to waste a season, you don't want to waste games, you don't want to waste anything. We understand what's ahead of us and we just have to work extremely hard and remain committed to doing whatever it takes to get back to winning more games and get back to the playoffs."

Don’t ask OV about his contract

OK, so it’s a bad idea to ask Giants’ defensive end Olivier Vernon about his massive five-year, $85 million contract. The one with $52.5 million guaranteed.

“I don’t think football changes once you get money,” Vernon said on Friday. “You watch film you see what I can do. If you have something wrong about that then you can always go against me and see what happens.” (Read the full story from Keane Macadaeg)

FYI — Jake Long is still a free agent

The four-time Pro Bowl tackle apparently refused to sign an injury waiver with the Baltimore Ravens, so he is back on the market. His knee apparently had passed inspection, but it sounds like the Ravens wanted a little security that Long wouldn’t give them.

Who’s the middle linebacker?

Darned if McAdoo knows right now. Here is what he said after Friday’s practice.

“We have some vet guys and some young guys that are in the mix. Jasper (Brinkley) is a guy that played there a lot for us lat year, but he’s going to have some competition.”

That would be from veterans Keenan Robinson and Kelvin Sheppard, along with fourth-round pick B.J. Goodson.

Everybody is worried about my back

Many thanks to those of you who have commented or e-mailed offering ideas to help my aching back, which I wrote about Friday morning. I appreciate the well-wishes, the home remedies and the exercise/treatment advice.