Giants looking for Kyle Rudolph to fill Evan Engram void

Kyle Rudolph couldn’t be more important if he had a red nose on a snowy night.

With Evan Engram still not practicing because of a calf injury, the Giants only have one healthy tight end on the active roster after a flurry of cuts and waiver claims. So, unless the plan is to rely on third-stringer Kaden Smith and game-day call-ups from the practice squad, the Giants are signaling that Rudolph will be recovered from foot surgery and ready for Week 1 after his mostly inactive training camp.

“He’s practiced here the last couple of days and he’s looked good,” offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. “He’s obviously very comfortable [in the offense]. He picks things up quickly. He’s run a lot of the plays that we’re running. I think he’s a quick study in that regard, so more than anything else it’s just getting his football feet underneath him.”

There’s more promising injury news. Not only are Rudolph, Kenny Golladay and Saquon Barkley progressing, but rookie receiver Kadarius Toney is trending toward a Week 1 role as a kick returner — if not more.

All four were involved in individual drills at Thursday’s practice, and coach Joe Judge spent several minutes chatting one-on-one with Toney during a special teams period.

Kyle Rudolph
Kyle Rudolph
Bill Kostroun

But, because of uncertainty around Engram, Rudolph, who still has a bit of a limp in his run, plays the position of need. Jake Hausmann and Chris Myarick are signed to the practice squad, but the Giants didn’t feel a need for a Plan B that included one of the more proven options available this week.

“Even though I’ve watched a ton of tape on him over the years, I’ve [barely] seen him practice,” tight ends coach Derek Dooley said. “He maximizes every minute he has to do what he can do.”

Smith played well down the stretch for the Giants as a rookie in 2019 (three touchdown catches in nine games) but was less productive under a new coaching staff last season. He made a spectacular touchdown catch Sunday against the Patriots.

“He’s had a tremendous camp,” Dooley said, “as far as where he was coming into camp and where he is coming out of camp.”


CBs Adoree’ Jackson and Josh Jackson were on the side with trainers during the open portion of practice. If Adoree’ Jackson (ankle) can’t play, it looks like a rotation opposite James Bradberry.


The Giants rounded out a 17-player practice squad by re-signing quarterback Brian Lewerke, receiver Dante Pettis, linebacker Trent Harris and long snapper Casey Kreiter. Tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart and offensive linemen Brett Heggie and Jake Burton were cut in corresponding moves, and receiver Alex Bachman was waived with an injury settlement.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that can cover,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can tackle.”


Long snapper Casey Kreiter was released Tuesday with a verbal promise to be re-signed Wednesday. Still, another team could’ve swooped in and offered more money or Kreiter could’ve double-crossed the Giants.

It didn’t happen. He returned. No nervous moments.

“I’m not going to worry about that,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. “Casey is a good man. We’ve got a trust. He wants to be here, we want him here, so it all worked out.”


Outside linebacker Quincy Roche, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound rookie claimed off waivers from the Steelers, made a strong first impression on Graham. Literally.

“He almost broke my hand when he shook my hand,” Graham said to laughs. “I said, ‘Hey, that’s good.’ I don’t know. Maybe I’m weak? But I’ve been working out.”

source: nypost.com