Shane Lemieux: Healthy and ready for 2022

A devastating knee injury sidelined Shane Lemieux for the 2021 season, but the third-year interior offensive lineman is attempting to earn a starting role for the New York Giants.

Lemieux has been taking first-team reps at left guard. With center Jon Feliciano sidelined for four practices, Lemieux also got some first-team reps at center. That is a position Lemieux has never played

“It’s been fun. It’s definitely a challenge. It’s something I’ve never done before,” Lemieux said. “Wherever the coaches want me, I’ll go out there and do it – whether its left guard, right guard, center, tackle. Whatever’s best for the team.”

On OL shuffling

Lemieux was asked about the prior regime’s propensity to use an offensive line rotation and how new coach Brain Daboll may have a different approach.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I mean, ‘Shane get in the game.’ I’m going to go. ‘Shane you’re not coming out.’ I’m going to listen to what the coaches say. You can’t go in with the mindset of thinking about too many things, especially on a game day like that. You’ve just got to be ready all the time.”

On his injury status

Lemieux said the knee injury that cost him all but 17 snaps last season has healed well.

“It’s good. It’s good. It’s just staying on top of my rehab, the stuff I’ve done in the off season and kind of make it right. Sticking to my routine,:” Lemieux said. “That was the biggest thing in this offseason was getting into a routine, making sure that my flexibility is all there, my strength is there, getting in the tubs and all of the recovery measures that I take.”

On OL coach Bobby Johnson

Lemieux is on his fourth offensive line coach in three years after the chaos of the Judge era. Does (offensive line coach) Bobby Johnson coach differently than his previous coaches?

“Some stuff like combos, but it’s stuff that we’ve been working since OTAs. But by now, I think we have a better understanding, a better feel for everything he’s asking us to do,” Lemieux said. “The sets, I guess, are a little bit flatter, more aggressive for the guards. Tackles really aren’t any different in their pass sets. But combo blocks, run blocking, footwork’s a little bit different than something I’ve been used to. But obviously, I’m enjoying it so far, and we’ve had a lot of work since OTAs.

”I think Bobby, what I really like about him is he’s a flatline. He’s the same person every single day. You’re going to get – whether it’s a good or it’s a bad – he’s going to demand a lot out of you. I don’t think if we have a bad day, he’s extra hard on us. I think it’s the same thing, and I really respect that of him.”

On Andrew Thomas

“Andrew, I played with him a lot in my rookie year. Last year, it was really fun seeing him take that huge step. This training camp so far, he’s been playing really well,” Lemieux said. “It’s really fun getting to play next to him because he’s a really smart football player. Not a lot of people talk about that a lot with Andrew. Everyone thinks he’s a super athletic, strong guy, but he’s a brainiac. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and he can pick up on blitzes. He’s always saying, ‘Hey Shane, watch this.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even see that.’ It’s really cool to see that.”

On Jon Feliciano

“Jon, obviously knowing the offense, there’s just a sense of calmness with him because he knows everything that’s going on. He’s saying,’ Hey Shane. Come here. Come do this. Come a-block.” All this kind of stuff. It’s definitely a sense of calming with Jon in there, because he’s been playing so long in that system.”

On his altercation with Dexter Lawrence

Lawrence said on Tuesday that he didn’t start the fight between he and Lemieux, but he finished it. Lemieux was, of course, asked for a comment. However, there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood.

“No, Dex is my boy,” Lemieux said. “I’ve got nothing to say. It’s training camp. There are going to be fights. I love Dex. I love Leo (Leonard Williams). We’re boys. I’m literally right in the middle of both of them. So, I see Dex, I see Leo. I say, ‘What’s up?’ every morning. We’re teammates. I told Dex later in the day, ‘We’re going to make each other better.’ He said, ‘I know.’ I said, ‘We’ve got to keep going.’ It’s just competitive. In the trenches, we’re leaning on each other. We’re fighting each other. It’s going to happen eventually. Especially on these hot days, it’s going to happen. It’s training camp.”