The New York Giants may have not only found a starting safety this weekend, but a folk hero as well.
Jason Pinnock, a 2021 fifth-round draft pick of the New York Jets out of Pitt who the Giants signed off waivers last August, was the center of attention this weekend at training camp after an eye-popping interception.
On Monday, the latest celebrity spoke to the media and was asked if a former Giant who made a famous one-handed catch, Odell Beckham, Jr, reached out to him
“Nah, O didn’t reach out,” Pinnock said with a laugh, as per NJ.com’s Darryl Slater. “He might’ve been a little jealous.”
One-handed INT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/owJgiELMjX
— New York Giants (@Giants) July 30, 2023
The interception came in the end zone on a pass intended for 6-foot-6 tight end, Darren Waller.
#Giants safety and Viral sensation Jason Pinnock talking about his interception at yesterday’s practice, “I’ve done that a few times… I guess the setting makes this one better”
The play came vs Darren Waller, who Pinnock called the best TE he’ll ever go against pic.twitter.com/5QcymB8oxr— Madelyn Burke (@MadelynBurke) July 31, 2023
“It was crazier than what I thought,” Pinnock said after watching a video of the play. “It was kind of cross-body, so it looked dope. I ain’t going to lie. I’m not going to hype myself up, but it was a hell of a catch. It looked like I was doing a stride in air, like running in air.”
#NYGiants safety @Jason_Pinnock on his viral interception and I asked him what @llawrencesexy told him since he had a sack that should have ended the play before his pick: pic.twitter.com/epZMUYxzVE
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) July 31, 2023
Pinnock also said his father, Louis, who was a former player, kept him grounded.
“Great catch, but it’s about what you do tomorrow,” his father told him.
And it will be, but tomorrow will be a little less stressful as Pinnick appears to be putting some distance between himself and rest of the competition for the safety opening next to Xavier McKinney.
Veteran free agent Bobby McCain and Dane Belton, a 2022 draft pick, are also in the mix for the job.
“In the end, it’ll come out, with whoever is out there on Sunday,” Pinnock said of the position battle. “Obviously, you know my goal here: I want to be out there.”
