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Offensive Line Help Coming Full Steam Ahead For Giants Amid Struggles

October 4, 2023

It’s no secret that the New York Football Giants have one of the worst, if not the worst offensive line in the NFL. The big men up front for New York hold up just as good as Swiss cheese and crackers - fragile and holey.

With injuries to star left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) in Week 1 and center John Michael-Schmitz Jr on Monday night, the already thin group keeps losing important layers.

To counteract the personal loss the Giants finally made a move to bring in another lineman. General Manager Joe Schoen worked his magic and signed an old friend of Big Blue, Justin Pugh to the practice squad.

The Giants are signing Justin Pugh to their practice squad, per @MikeGarafolo pic.twitter.com/ZeE10X5BNl

— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) October 3, 2023

Who is Justin Pugh?

Pugh is a 6 '5 and 311 pound unit who was drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Pugh spent five seasons with the G-Men before signing as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018.

Pugh played five seasons in Arizona before tearing his ACL on October 16, 2022. Over his career, Pugh has played in 120 games with 119 starts, including 73 at left guard, 38 at right tackle, seven at right guard and one at left tackle.

Since tearing his ACL, Pugh hasn’t played on an NFL game day field, however, this will most likely change quickly as the Giants need all the help they can get up front.

Pugh is a clear seasoned veteran who will be a great addition to a group who is failing at every single aspect of their job. Hopefully Pugh can back up or even replace some of the struggling linemen, as no one except Thomas; who has been out for three weeks, has been holding up their side of the line.

Currently the Giants only have nine linemen on the active roster and every single one of them is under performing (aside from Thomas - injury).

Name	Position
John Michael-Schmitz Jr	C
Ben Bredeson	G
Mark Glowinski	G
Shane Lemieux	G
Joshua Ezeudu	OL
Marcus McKethan	OL
Evan Neal	T
Matt Peart	T
Andrew Thomas	T

On Monday night, the offensive line allowed 11 sacks, an ungodly amount considering how little time they had possession of the football.

Everyone part of the offensive line should be on the chopping block and every player should look to be replaced as the same errors keep happening week in and week out. The amount of missed blocks, poor blocks and just getting outright beat is incomprehensible, especially when this is a pro football team.

As Pugh makes his long awaited reunion with the G-Men in the Meadowlands, fans can only hope that he brings with him fast feet, strength and durability.