HEADLINES

Nick Gates

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/21

September 21st, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: T Jackson Barton (off Giants’ practice squad)

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Giants OL Nick Gates Suffers Lower Leg Fracture

September 16th, 2021 at 9:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Giants offensive lineman Nick Gates left tonight’s game following a brutal leg injury. According to the team, Gates suffered a lower leg fracture (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter).

The injury occurred in the first quarter. Gates was tossed to the ground, and teammate Daron Payne accidentally rolled over the lineman’s ankle. Gates’ leg was placed in an air cast before he was carted off the field. The broadcast refused to show a replay considering the gruesome nature of the injury.

Gates was an undrafted free agent in 2018, but he’s transformed into one of the Giants’ most reliable offensive lineman. The 25-year-old started all 16 games for New York in 2020, and he was named a team captain prior to the 2021 campaign. He appeared in all 61 of the Giants’ offensive snaps during their Week 1 loss.

After playing center in 2020, the Giants shifted Gates to left guard this week following an injury to Shane Lemieux. This allowed recent acquisition Billy Price to slide into the center spot. Ben Bredeson replaced Gates following the injury, per Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com.

Giants Place G Shane Lemieux On IR

September 16th, 2021 at 3:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The knee injury Shane Lemieux suffered in late July has continued to plague him, and the Giants will give the young guard time to recover. They placed Lemieux on IR Thursday.

Inserted into the Giants’ starting lineup after Will Hernandez‘s COVID-19 contraction last year, Lemieux did not give up the job the rest of the way. After New York released Kevin Zeitler this offseason, Lemieux and Hernandez started in Week 1. Surgery may be in the cards for Lemieux, though that is not yet certain. The 2020 fifth-round pick playing again this season would be a surprise, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

[RELATED: Giants Promote Matt Skura]

Lemieux’s injury will force the Giants to get creative on their offensive line. They are set to start recent trade acquisition Billy Price at center and slide Nick Gates to left guard, Raanan notes. Such a promotion occurring in Week 2, which features a short week and a trip to Washington, will represent a stiff challenge for Price. The former first-round pick could not stick in the Bengals’ lineup, despite the team’s lofty investment, and was traded to the Giants for a late-round pick.

Lemieux could not make it through the first half against the Broncos, playing only 17 snaps. Ben Bredeson, the other O-line trade acquisition the Giants made ahead of the season, replaced him in the lineup. But the ex-Raven is set to return to a reserve role tonight.

Considering the issues the Giants had up front with their starting five available over the past several weeks, the team needing to make changes ahead of a Thursday road tilt is certainly bad news. The Giants are looking to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2016.

Giants, Nick Gates Agree To Extension

August 1st, 2020 at 12:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have agreed to a two-year extension with offensive lineman Nick Gates, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The new deal carries a base value of $6.825MM with the potential to reach $10.325MM via incentives and bonuses.

It’s a nice pay bump for the former undrafted free agent, especially considering that he spent his would-be 2018 rookie season on IR. Last year, Gates turned in a perfect attendance card including three starts.

This year, Gates figures to reprise his role as a backup tackle. The Giants will be counting on him a little bit more than anticipated – starting tackle Nate Solder has exercised his right to opt out of the 2020 season, leaving the Giants with first-round pick Andrew Thomas and third-rounder Matt Peart as their projected starting tackles.

At Nebraska, Gates made 25 consecutive starts at left tackle. With the Giants, he’s moved between right guard and right tackle, and he’ll likely bounce between the interior and exterior line once again this year. The Giants have retooled their offensive line, but they see Gates as a keeper and, potentially, a future cog.

Giants Lock In 53-Man Roster

September 1st, 2018 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants will head into the 2018 season without one of their longest-tenured players and one of their 2017 starting safeties, with both Mark Herzlich and Darian Thompson failing to make the team.

A 2017 fifth-round pick, edge defender Avery Moss missed out as well. As did Roger Lewis, a wideout who became needed when the Giants became decimated at receiver last season.

The Giants also released recently signed cornerback Leonard Johnson, who was trying to make a fifth NFL franchise’s 53-man roster. The former Buccaneer, Patriot, Panther and Bill started seven games with Buffalo last season.

Here’s the full list of Giants cuts:

Released:

Waived:

Waived with an injury designation

Placed on IR:

Placed on Reserve/NFI list:

  • DL R.J. McIntosh

Suspended:

Giants Sign 11 UDFAs

May 11th, 2018 at 10:24am CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have formally signed eleven undrafted free agents:

Chandler received a $35K bonus to sign with the Giants, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Chandler gave Temple solid production throughout his four-year tenure and offers the kind of toughness that GM Dave Gettleman appreciates. He’s definitely undersized at 5’11”, but his higher-than-average bonus indicates that there were at least a few NFL GMs eager to see what he can do in camp.

Howell was a part of Missouri’s impressive 2016 offensive line, which finished first nationally in tackles for loss allowed (2.92 per game), the lowest for any team since at least 2005.