Through four weeks of play, there arguably hasn’t been a worse offensive line than what the New York Giants are working with. Daniel Jones is coming off taking a career-high ten sacks in one game, and now he’s on pace to set a new futile record of being sacked more than any other QB in NFL history for one season. It’s not good.
The Giants did make one small move to try and help improve their play in the trenches by bringing back a familiar face in former first-round pick Justin Pugh. But he’s only been added to the practice squad, and he hasn’t played an NFL snap since tearing his ACL in Week 6 of the 2022 season. In other words, it may take some time for the 33-year-old guard to get up to full speed.
But that’s not the biggest issue the Giants face. While Pugh’s addition could help the line improve over time, what they really need is to get left tackle Andrew Thomas back in the starting lineup. However, that boost likely won’t be coming during Week 5’s matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
According to coach Brian Daboll, the team is “leaning toward no” on Thomas being able to return from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him for all but 53 snaps so far. Thomas will not practice on Wednesday, and he’ll have another starting offensive lineman join him on the sidelines.
Rookie center John Michael Schmitz also won’t practice after suffering a shoulder injury during the highly controversial ‘Tush Push’ play the Giants attempted on 4th-and-1 from the Seattle 27-yard-line. Not only did the Giants fail to convert, they also lost their starting center for the rest of the game and possibly through Week 5 too.
With two starting linemen possibly looking at missing the Dolphins matchup, Jones could be in for another long day in the pocket. That’s not ideal for a team that sits at 1-3 yet had aspirations of returning to the postseason after last year’s unexpected Wild Card win.
Related: See how the New York Giants’ offensive line impacts Daniel Jones in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB rankings