The New York Giants benched center John Michael Schmitz on Sunday, turning to Bryan Hudson as the starter against the Arizona Cardinals.
Schmitz missed Friday’s practice for a personal matter, and the team expected him back for the game. He was in the building at MetLife Stadium, but the visual told a different story: He arrived wearing a hat that read “Dad,” a strong indication that his wife had given birth and that the absence was tied to the arrival of a child.
Whatever the exact timing, the Giants did not put him back in the lineup.
Hudson, the backup, took first-team snaps in Schmitz’s place on Friday and stayed with the starters through pregame. In warmups, starting quarterback Jameis Winston took his snaps from Hudson, while backup Jake
Haener worked with Schmitz. Third-stringer J.J. McCarthy also got a brief look with Hudson.
By the time the Cardinals game began, Hudson was the center.
The move lands on a player who has struggled mightily this season. Schmitz, a 2023 second-round pick out of Minnesota, has been a frequent point of concern along an interior that the Giants have tried to stabilize. Hudson had already drawn praise in camp for stepping into first-team work when injuries hit the position, and the staff has viewed him as prepared if the opportunity came.
Sunday’s decision does not read as a one-week courtesy tied only to a family matter. Schmitz was available enough to take backup reps in warmups, and the Giants still sent Hudson out with the ones.
For a center whose play has been under scrutiny, the benching is the clearest signal yet that the job is no longer his by default.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants bench center John Michael Schmitz
