New York Giants offensive lineman Nick Gates is still making his comeback from a devastating leg injury he suffered early last season.
He’s currently back on the Giants’ active roster and has returned to his role as a leader on the offensive line.
“I definitely try to take the vocal lead when it’s my turn,” Gates told reporters on Monday. “When I’m the center, I feel like until Daniel is in the huddle, it’s my huddle and I’m going to take over as that guy and once Daniel steps in, it’s his. But I feel like that’s any center, every center has to kind of be the leader of the group and set the tone. They’ve just got to make sure everybody’s going in the right direction and just go play hard.”
Gates could be back as the Giants’ center as early as this week with Jon Feliciano dealing with injuries.
“I try to prepare every week like I’m a starter, no matter if I am or not. You stay ready so you don’t have to get ready, right? I feel like it was nice getting in there having the week to know where I’m playing and knowing what I’m going to do for that week,” he said. “It was nice to be able to get my mind right for that and be able to work with my guards and be able to get fits with them during the week. So that definitely helped.
“I feel like I’m always ready for whatever. If I’m getting thrown in the middle of the game or not, I think we have a good group on the inside. We’re older, so we all understand how to play next to other people and it’s part of football and part of offensive line play, you’re going to have to play next to other people sometimes.”
