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tRY IT NOWBrian Daboll wasn’t giving an inch.
Despite preseason scores not mattering and the Bills already revealing their plan to play their healthy starters except quarterback Josh Allen for the first quarter, Daboll pushed an announcement on whether the Giants’ starters will play Saturday in the preseason opener in Buffalo until late Thursday night.
Practice participation suggested it could be a backup-heavy lineup.
“We’re going to do, coaching-staff-wise, what we think is best for the guys,” Daboll said. “We have meetings like we do after every [week]. Talk with the coaches, talk with the medical staff, and then decide off the information that we get.”
A strong case could be made that there is no value of risking an injury to quarterback Russell Wilson and other starters with left tackle Andrew Thomas out and receivers Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton likely to be sidelined by injury.
Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart will make his NFL debut in August 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The Ole Miss product will face the Bills in the Giants’ preseason opener, head coach Brian Daboll revealed. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTOn the other side of the ball, how much is the defense going to gain by playing against an Allen-less offense?
The Giants turn around with highly valued joint practices against the Jets on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I spent a lot of time on this looking at a variety of teams, a variety of coaches, how they’ve handled the preseason [and] if it had any direct impact on how they started the season,” Daboll said. “Probably inconclusive.”
If Daboll sits most starters, players locked in position battles and rookies could be the exception.
It’s unclear if Jaxson Dart (r.) will start or if the first-teamers, a la Russell Wilson (l.), will. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST“It’s important for all the young guys to get out there and experience live action in NFL games,” Daboll said. “It’s their first one. It’s something they’ll always remember, too. We’ll give them as many reps as we can give them.”
RG Evan Neal was off to the side with a trainer Thursday while dealing with an undisclosed injury. Any lost snaps for the oft-injured Neal are crucial as he learns a new position and competes to beat out incumbent Greg Van Roten as a starter.
“Everything gets evaluated,” Daboll said. “But when you’re playing in a live game where you can tackle, you can get hit, you see real live football … they’re important, obviously. Out here [at practice], was it a sack? Was it not a sack? Was it a long run? You don’t really know.”
