Giants’ 90-man roster: “Real pro” Mike Remmers upgrades Giants’ offensive line

With the New York Giants needing offensive line upgrades the past two offseasons, there has been plenty of speculation about Giants GM Dave Gettleman reaching into his past in an effort to find help.

In 2018, there was an expectation the Giants would chase former Carolina Panthers guard Andrew Norwell. They did, but lost him to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This offseason, there was an expectation the Giants would pursue another Panther, right tackle Daryl Williams. They did, but Williams chose to remain in Carolina.

In the end, Gettleman did land a player both he and head coach Pat Shurmur have been successful with in the past, when veteran Mike Remmers signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with $1 million guaranteed.

Let’s focus on Remmers as we continue profiling the 90 players the Giants will bring to training camp later this summer.

The basics

Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 310
Age: 30
Position: OT
Experience: 7

How he got here

In an NFL career that began in 2012, Remmers has been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings. During his career he has played both tackles and guard. Gettleman was GM in Carolina when the Panthers signed Remmers, and Shurmur was Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in 2017 when Remmers played there.

“He is a pro, a real pro, and he played winning football for us in Minnesota,” Shurmur said.

Remmers is coming off what he called “just a little surgery” on his back that kept him from doing more in the spring than working on the side with the Giants training staff.

2019 outlook

Remmers is the presumptive starter at right tackle, where Chad Wheeler was ranked No. 58 by Pro Football Focus out of 61 qualifying tackles. The Giants expect him to be ready for training camp.

Remmers is not a great player. He has never made a Pro Bowl or been named All-Pro. He has been a workman-like, versatile pro and should provide help to the Giants as they try to provide a comfortable pocket for Eli Manning, and perhaps eventually Daniel Jones. Right tackle, though, is the position his PFF grades show as his best, and the one he prefers to play.

“I have the absolute most experience there, from high school, to college, to pros. I have the most experience at tackle,” Remmers said in the spring. “Last year I played all guard, the year before that mainly tackle and a few games at guard. It was different playing guard, I feel like my experience there will help me though going back to tackle. I feel like I learned a lot there but I am looking forward to playing tackle again.”