Takeaways from New York Giants practice on Tuesday

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants held a padded practice on Tuesday, exactly one week before they have to trim their 90-man roster to an initial set of 53 players. Here are some of the takeaways.

Injury updates: Tyre Phillips back to practice

Offensive lineman Tyre Phillips, the leading candidate for the swing tackle job, returned to practice on a limited basis. Phillips had been held out since suffering an injury during joing practices against the Detroit Lions. He did not take part in team periods on Tuesday.

The following injured players did not practice on Tuesday:

Guard Jack Anderson, wide receiver Cole Beasley, running back Gary Brightwell, tight end Tommy Sweeney, inside linebacker Cam Brown, defensive lineman Ryder Anderson, cornerback Nick McCloud, safety Jason Pinnock, cornerback Cor’Dale Flott.

Head coach Brian Daboll admitted that the list of injuries complicates decisions on the 53-man roster, which needs to be set by Tuesday, Aug. 29. How are injured players judged?

“It’s really just by past performance if we’ve had them or what we’ve seen out of them up to this point whether that’s through OTA’s, through training camp – if they can’t go, they can’t go,” Daboll said. “So certainly, a lot of discussion about those type of players that haven’t been out there so you have to kind of project a little bit and some of them you have experience with, some of them are new players, so a lot of discussions.”

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams and wide receiver Sterling Shepard had veteran rest days and did not practice.

A Wan’Dale sighting

The sharp eyes of ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan spotted wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson running routes on a back field during practice on Tuesday. This is the first time I recall Robinson doing any real route running this summer.

Robinson remains on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

Spin the offensive line wheel

The Giants continued their three-for-two rotation at the guard spots on Tuesday. During first-team periods, Ben Bredeson, Josh Ezeudu, and Mark Glowinski rotated every two snaps. Each player ended up working on both sides of the ball. Bredeson also took a few snaps at the second team center.

Whether the Giants have decided who will start and are just prepping players in the even of injuries, or whether there is truly still a competition for the starting job is anyone’s guess at this point.

Practice highlights

• The Giants were in pads on Tuesday, and it was a better day for the offensive line. Daboll explained that on Monday, an awful day for the line, the Giants had practiced a number of third-and-more-than-10 scenarios, which obviously favored the defense.
• Jalin Hyatt continued to dazzle. Matched up against Amani Oruwariye, the rookie blew past Oruwariye for a long completion from Daniel Jones. Earlier in the day, Hyatt appeared to come up hobbling after getting tangled up with cornerback Zyon Gilbert during 1-on-1s, at one point, but about a minute later toasted Gilbert with a beautiful inside move to get open on a deep out.
• John Michael Schmitz has been really good this summer, but Dexter Lawrence is still Dexter Lawrence. On a run by Saquon Barkley, Lawrence blew past Schmitz for what would have been a tackle for loss.
• A couple of personnel notes: Wide receivers Jamison Crowder and Collin Johnson each got a few first-team reps. On defense, 2022 fifth-round pick D.J. Davidson got a handful of first-team reps with Williams sitting out.