On Monday, the New York Giants officially signed veteran offensive lineman Eric Smith and terminated the contract of offensive lineman Matt Gono.
Gono had missed time recently due to a neck injury that some believe may be career-threatening. He had been on a roster exemption but that expired, leaving the Giants in a precarious position.
Despite the signing of Smith, the Giants continue to focus heavily on their lacking O-Line depth.
“I think Joe (Schoen) and his staff — the scouting department — are going to look at every avenue to try to improve that situation. You obviously can’t, you don’t have a crystal ball when that stuff happens,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Sunday.
Following Monday’s practice, the Giants once again held tryouts for a pair of offensive linemen. This time, they were tackle Vadal Alexander and center Brayden Patton.
The 28-year-old Alexander was a seventh-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2016 NFL draft. After his first two seasons, Alexander was suspended for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances and later waived for failing to report to training camp.
Alexander was out of football for nearly five years before joining the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers earlier this year. However, he missed some time throughout the season due to an arthritis flare-up.
The 24-year-old Patton went undrafted out of NIU in April and like Alexander, later joined the Maulers and spent a season in the USFL. He was named Second-Team All-MAC by the coaches in 2021.
Neither were immediately signed to a contract.
