Following the loss of Matt Gono and rookie Marcus McKethan, New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll acknowledged the team had serious depth concerns at offensive tackle.
“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,” Daboll told reporters on Sunday.
“And it’s too bad, by the way, about Marcus. I spoke to him yesterday. For a young player to have a non-contact injury, it was tough. But he’s in good spirits. So, he’ll have to start rehabbing. But we’ll try to do whatever we need to do. Whatever it needs to do, we’re going to try to do.”
It didn’t take long for Schoen & Co. to act. They held a tryout for veteran offensive lineman Eric Smith following Sunday’s practice and intend to sign him.
OL Eric Smith is signing with the #Giants, per source. Smith, 26, is a former Virginia standout — he worked out for the team this morning and was previously with the GMEN in 2019.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 7, 2022
The 26-year-old Smith originally signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2017. He later made stops with the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.
This will be Smith’s second stop with the Giants (2019).
The 6-foot-4, 308-pound Smith has appeared in four NFL games with one start. The most playing time he received came with the Giants in 2019 when he took 56 offensive snaps over a two-game span.
In order to clear room for Smith, the Giants terminated the contract of offensive lineman Matt Gono (neck), whose roster exemption had recently expired.
