The New York Giants are 2-5 to start this season and many are pointing to their offensive line injuries as the main culprit. Of all the injuries along the line, the one to All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas has been the most significant.
Thomas, the Giants’ first-round pick out of Georgia back in 2020, was being penciled in as a cornerstone this season after the Giants inked him to a five-year contract extension in July worth $117.5 million. The guaranteed portion of the contract ($67 million) set a new record for an NFL offensive lineman.
But Thomas hasn’t gotten much of a chance to live up to the deal thus far. He injured his hamstring in the Giants’ opening night loss to the Dallas Cowboys and has been sidelined ever since.
This Sunday we could finally see Thomas back on the field for the Giants when they face the Jets at MetLife Stadium. Head coach Brian Daboll didn’t make any promises saying Thomas will still be limited at practice this week.
“Not too bad today. First time I’ve put on a helmet in a while, so that was a good feeling being out there with my teammates again,” Thomas told reporters on Wednesday when asked how he felt. “More than I’ve been doing by myself with the (athletic) trainers and stuff like that. Just continue to stress it and see how it responds.”
Thomas has missed five games, enough for him to be placed on IR, but the Giants chose not to go that route, keeping him on the active roster instead.
“I think I’m just following the plans of the trainers like I think they just want me to kind of mimic what I would do if I was at practice, but they also want to limit and not just cut me loose because there is a chance you can make it worse with soft tissue, so that’s the plan I’m trying to follow,” he said.
The offensive line has been besieged by injuries and Thomas has been relegated to watching the team try to piece together a lineup each week, which has been a daunting task.
“I think they’ve done a tremendous job, it’s not easy what they’ve been asked to do,” Thomas said. “All the injuries that we’ve had, all the switching positions, and all those things. It’s not easy to overcome, but we have a tight-knit group and I think we are starting to gel.”
They will undergo another transformation when Thomas finally gets back to normal and re-takes the left tackle spot.
“I don’t,” Thomas added when asked if he had a sense that he could play Sunday. “Won’t make any projections. As I said, today is my first day being at practice, so just try to build on that.”
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