Giants training camp takeaways, 8/16: Roster moves, Ring of Honor, Tyrod Taylor, and a light practice

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The short-handed New York Giants held a light practice Tuesday without pads as their 2022 training camp continued. Here are some of the takeaways.

A surprise roster move

We reported earlier Tuesday that the Giants waived TE/FB Jeremiah and cornerback Gavin Heslop, and waived/injured wide receiver Austin Proehl to reach the 85-man roster limit required by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

I will admit that I was surprised by the Hall cut. This, though, is an example of why you have to take with a grain of salt everything that you see, hear and read when it comes to training camp.

Hall appeared to have a useful skill set for the Giants’ offense, with experience at both tight end and fullback. He was getting first-team reps.

Things, though, are not always as they appear. There is always context to everything that we see. I try to provide that context as much as possible. Also, though, there are times when reporters on the sideline don’t have — and are not provided — that context.

As someone remarked to me on Tuesday, sometimes those surprising first-team reps are as much out ruling players OUT as they might be about ruling players in.

The Hall cut is also a reminder that as often as I may project a 53-man roster, and as much certain things may seem obvious or apparent on the surface, GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are rookies. We don’t know exactly what they will do, and there will inevitably be surprises on the initial 53-man roster.

‘Empathy’ for players being cut

Something that impressed me Tuesday about the cuts the Giants made. They made them BEFORE practice, allowing Hall, Proehl and Heslop to leave early and not forcing them to go through practice and then be told they were cut.

That may seem like a small thing. In the NFL, unfortunately it is not. Many times I have seen players go through a practice — or multiple practices — and then be told to pack their bags. Maybe that gives the team an extra body for practice, but it is a crappy way to treat a human being.

Head coach Brian Daboll said that he and GM Joe Schoen said they felt making the moves before practice was a way to “do the player right,” since the decisions had already been made.

“You do it (make cuts) with a sense of empathy. Look, these players are working extremely hard. They’ve given everything they have in spring and summer camps and it’s the nature of the business we’re in ... these guys care about what they’re doing, they’re giving everything they have. Obviously there’s empathy for the player and what they’ve tried to do.”

Injury updates

Daboll said the Giants are in the “same place” they were Sunday in terms of injuries.

The following Giants did not practice:

Jon Feliciano, Jihad Ward, Elerson Smith, Rodarius Williams, Leonard Williams, Shane Lemieux, Joshua Ezeudu, Jamil Douglas, Ricky Seals-Jones, Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, Cor’Dale Flott, Dane Belton (broken collarbone), Andre Miller (broken forearm).

Wide receiver Kadarius Toney worked on the side early in practice, and then went through individual drills. Toney had some form of tape on the front of his left leg.

Bill Cowher drops by

Hall of Famer Bill Cowher, former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, dropped by practice. During stretch, Daboll and Cowher spent time chatting.

By the way, when you are a Hall of Famer like Cowher you get to leave by walking straight across the field DURING PRACTICE and interrupting a drill rather than walking around like the rest of us human beings.

First-team reps for Tyrod Taylor?

Daboll said there “might” come a time in training camp where backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor gets a few first-team reps, but that would “absolutely not” be a reflection on Daniel Jones.

Daboll said if Taylor were to get reps he would pick a situation mid-drill where Taylor would come on and replace Jones, because that is the situation a backup quarterback can find himself in.

“I learned from a pretty good coach a while ago, usually he doesn’t tell those guys when he throws them in because that’s what the backup’s role is. You have to go in on a split second,” Daboll said. “You prepare like you’re a starter. But the fourth play of a game, something happens, you’re in, you got to be ready to go. So, I don’t necessarily think we’ll tell those guys when that will happen.”

Daboll reiterated that he has “full confidence” in Jones.

Practice notes

Practicing without full pads, the Giants did not do any live 11-on-11 work on Tuesday. They did several 7-on-7 periods, which appeared to be run in no-huddle situations.

These were perhaps not as competitive as padded 11-on-11 work, and are likely skewed to favor the offense.

I charted Daniel Jones as completing 15 of 16 passes, though I may have missed a play or two.

Tyrod Taylor went 6 of 9, including a drop by Marcus Kemp and Davis Webb went 5 of 8 with an interception. Newly-acquired cornerback Olaijah Griffin had that, hauling down a pass in the corner of the end zone.

Placekicker Graham Gano went 8 of 8 on field-goal attempts, making his longest field of camp — a 55-yarder.

Ring of Honor

The Giants announced that Leonard Marshall, Ottis Anderson, Joe Morris, Rodney Hampton, Kyle Rote, Jimmy Patton and Ronnie Barnes will be added to the team’s Ring of Honor this fall. [Full story]