Giants training camp: Cleveland, roster moves highlight the week ahead

The New York Giants have moved on from Saturday’s preseason-opening loss to the New York Jets. Here is what is on the docket this week as the Giants continue to get ready for the 2021 NFL season.

On to Cleveland

The Giants are off on Monday. They practice at Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Tuesday, then travel to Ohio on Wednesday. Joint practices with the Cleveland Browns will be held Thursday and Friday, with the teams playing Game 2 of the preseason on Sunday at 1 p.m. at First Energy Stadium in Cleveland.

Yours truly is not making the trip. We will continue to have as much coverage as possible here at Big Blue View, but we will be doing it remotely.

Roster moves are coming

If you think the Giants have already done a lot of roster shuffling during training camp, you probably should buckle your seat belt. There is a lot more roster movement coming over the next few days.

First of all, the Giants have to trim their roster from 90 players to 85 by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Theoretically, it shouldn’t be difficult for the Giants to reach the 85-man limit. Linebacker T.J. Brunson (torn ACL) and defensive back Joshua Kalu (torn pectoral muscle) will almost certainly be placed on injured reserve. That means only three players actually have to be dropped to reach 85.

Here are a few cut candidates.

Cornerback Sam Beal did not play a snap on Saturday. Defensive back Chris Milton hasn’t practiced and doesn’t appear likely to earn a role. The Giants are still carrying a bunch of tight ends, so perhaps a guy like Jake Hausmann could be dropped. Depending upon the severity of their injuries, maybe an offensive lineman like Jonotthan Harrison or Kyle Murphy lands on IR. Wide receiver Austin Mack, sidelined most of camp, might be in jeopardy. I wonder if the Giants would move on from linebacker Ryan Anderson this early in the preseason.

It isn’t, however, as simple as just getting down to 85 players.

If you watched Saturday’s game, you know that the Giants are thin when it comes to reserve offensive linemen — and I’m not talking about talent. I’m talking about bodies.

Harrison, Murphy, Shane Lemieux and Nate Solder are all either unavailable or not ready for a full workload heading into this week’s joint practices with the Browns. The Giants need bodies. That’s part of why Ted Larsen was signed on Friday evening.

Judge indicated the Giants aren’t done.

“We’re talking to personnel today and tomorrow on the entire roster,” Judge said on Sunday. “Obviously, there’s some moves we have to make with league rules. We’re looking at the week going into Cleveland, but then also just building our own depth on all parts of the roster. In terms of bringing some players in, we’re looking at guys at all positions around the league. There’s going to be a lot of guys that are available, so it’s our job to do our due diligence to make sure we know who’s out there and available in the league.

“On the offensive line, you’ve got to have a lot of bodies to operate, so in terms of bringing somebody in, there’s a good chance that we’re going to look to bring somebody in before going to Cleveland.”

The plan for Saquon

Saquon Barkley will travel to Cleveland, but is unlikely to participate in any live drills as the Giants try to carefully ramp him up as he returns from last season’s major knee injury.

“He responded well last week to the volume and the load. I thought the plan of obviously putting him through a couple of days, backing him off, ramping him back up, so obviously they have a really good feel for his body working with him throughout these last few months through the rehab process,” Judge said. “At this point, the focus is really to kind of get him moving more and more within the football movements.

“In terms of what that’s going to mean for him this week in Cleveland, we’ll have to wait and see. I wouldn’t anticipate him being in any kind of live drills this week. As of this point, that would be the plan, but we’ll see where it goes as we go on down further and further when his body is ready for all the football.”

What about Kadarius?

Judge said Saturday night that he hoped first-round pick Kadarius Toney, dealing with an undisclosed injury, would practice in some fashion this week. Sunday, Judge confirmed that the wide receiver/return man will travel to Cleveland with the team.

“All plans are to have him out there,” Judge said. “There’s no conversations at this point of anything different.”

What Toney will do, aside from watching the Giants and Browns practice, is anyone’s guess.