Giants Host LT D.J. Humphries

OCTOBER 24: Daboll said on Thursday (via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News) no agreement is imminent between Humphries and the Giants. Ezeudu is set to take first-team left tackle reps in practice again today, meanwhile, suggesting he will in fact handle starting duties on the blindside once more in Week 8.

OCTOBER 22: The Giants continue to search for a stop-gap solution at the left tackle spot in the wake of losing Andrew Thomas. New York is set to host D.J. Humphries on a free agent visit today, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

[RELATED: Giants Still Committed To Daniel Jones As Starting QB]

Thomas will miss the remainder of the season due to a foot injury, and his absence was acutely felt in Week 7. The Giants gave up eight sacks in a blowout loss to the Eagles, with Joshua Ezeudu struggling in Thomas’ place. Head coach Brian Daboll did not commit to Ezeudu as New York’s blindside blocker moving forward (h/t Dan Duggan of The Athletic), which opened the door to other options being explored.

Humphries suffered an ACL tear late last season, making him a longshot to be healthy in time for the start of the 2024 campaign. After eight years and 98 starts with Arizona, the 30-year-old was released in March. The Cardinals used 2023 sixth overall pick Paris Johnson Jr. at right tackle during his rookie campaign, but moving on from Humphries allowed the team to switch him to the blindside. Last month, general manager Monti Ossenfort said a reunion with Humphries could be possible.

Today’s news means outside interest exists as well, though. At a minimum, the former first-rounder is clearly making progress in his recovery, and if healthy he could handle left tackle duties for the Giants as they look to find stability up front. The former Pro Bowler’s best season in terms of PFF evaluation came in 2020; he has not managed to repeat that 88.3 overall mark since, but he could offer capable play to finish out the season. Doing so would not set Humphries up as a long-term Thomas replacement, but it would of course boost his free agent value.

The Giants have Jermaine Eluemunor as an option to flip from right to left tackle, something he has done in the past. Doing so would create a starting RT vacancy which recent addition Chris Hubbard could fill; the same is true of 2022 first-rounder Evan Neal. As Duggan notes, though, the latter did not see action in mop-up duty once the offensive starters were pulled on Sunday. That suggests Neal is not in the team’s plans for a first-team (or even top backup) gig any time soon. Especially if another veteran were to be signed from outside the organization, Neal would face the threat of falling further down the tackle depth chart.

With roughly $2.9MM in cap space, New York could afford a modest deal for Humphries or another option at the left tackle spot. The Florida product has been attached an eight-figure AAV on each of his last two contracts, but whether it comes from the Giants or another team his next pact will of course be much smaller in value.