EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants wrapped up their offseason program on Wednesday with a light jog-through practice that head coach John Harbaugh had previously said would be a “mental sweat” for players.
The Giants will now be off until the end of July when they begin training camp at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. Exact dates have not been announced.
Here are a few notes from Wednesday.
‘Very hopeful’ about Malik Nabers
GM Joe Schoen told Yahoo! Sports this week he is still optimistic that Nabers, rehabbing from
a torn ACL and other knee damage, will be ready for Week 1 when the Giants face the Dallas Cowboys.
Harbaugh, asked if he was more optimistic about a Nabers’ Week 1 return than he had been a few weeks ago, said “I wasn’t less optimistic before.”
“It’s a slog. It’s a grind. He’s still in the middle of it. He’s probably not in the middle of it now. He’s probably maybe 70% through. I don’t know. Something like that,” Harbaugh said. “He’s still grinding. It’s going to be a grind when he starts playing again, too. To get it back right.”
Harbaugh said that Nabers will spend much of his time between now and training camp rehabbing in East Rutherford.
“I think he does everything he can,” Harbaugh said. “He’s doing a great job. He’s made some real good progress in the last few weeks.”
Abdul Carter back at practice
The Giants did not really exert themselves physically on Wednesday, but it was encouraging to see Carter in attendance after Monday’s ankle injury. Carter was watching, not participating. Running back Tyrone Tracy also returned after missing Tuesday’s practice due to a personal matter.
Here are a few other injury notes from Harbaugh:
- Linebacker Cam Jones has been missing practice after getting injured while moving. Harbaugh said Jones took “a wrong step.” It sounds like he will be ready to go for training camp.
- Tight end Thomas Fidone is “still coming back from the foot thing,” Harbaugh said. He added that Fidone had the foot “cleanup up yesterday or today,” and should be ready in a couple of weeks.
- Wide receiver Beaux Collins has been sitting out with a hamstring injury.
- Defensive tackle Sam Roberts, who had an undisclosed surgery, should be ready for the start of training camp.
Good sign for John Mara
Mara, diagnosed with cancer last year, was at practice for the third straight day on Wednesday. Mara is moving around on his own, and looks better than he did in January at Harbaugh’s introductory press conference.
Others have reported that Steve Tisch and Chris Mara were also in attendance. I did not see either of them. Tisch is no longer listed as an owner of the Giants, but he is still tightly connected to the team as chairman of the Board of Directors.
‘Happy’ for Joe Schoen
Harbaugh said he was “happy” that GM Joe Schoen recently received a contract extension.
“He’s a good guy,” Harbaugh said. “Enjoy working with him and looking forward to what we all can do together.”
Harbaugh said the extension was not his decision to make.
“They asked me if I liked Joe and I thought he did a good job, and I said yeah,” Harbaugh said. “It’s the decision of the people I respect — I respect the ownership group. It’s their call, and that’s their call, and they made it, and I respect it. I think it’s a good decision. I agree with it, but I think that’s good. I’m excited.”
West Virginia, here we come!
The Giants will not convene again until training camp, roughly six or seven weeks from now. Harbaugh’s first camp as Giants coach will be in West Virginia, due in part to the World Cup at MetLife Stadium and to ongoing construction inside the Giants’ facility.
Harbaugh, typically, sees the bright side of being away.
“I look at it like a real opportunity. It’s going to be a chance to get locked in,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a simple place to be. You don’t have to deal with coming back and forth from a hotel. Obviously we’ll get away from the World Cup stuff and the construction here, which is a plus, too, for us.
“But that bonding opportunity: Guys aren’t going home. They’re going to be with each other into the evening, stuff like that, go to dinner together. I think it’s a real plus for us. I’m excited about it.”
