According to Coach Ben McAdoo, the starting right tackle position is up for grabs. When told by reporters earlier this week that General Manager, Jerry Reese, said he thought it was a competition between Newhouse and Hart, McAdoo said, “No question. Bobby is going to have the opportunity to start.”
In the off season, the Giants have been transparent in their pursuit for help at the tackle position. Most recently the Giants contacted Eugene Monroe after he was released by the Baltimore Ravens but Monroe ended up retiring a short time later which effectively ended that possibility. Bobby Hart, who was the Giants’ 7th Round pick out of Florida State last year has been given more than enough motivation per the words of the general manager and head coach. Yet according to reports, the second year offensive lineman has yet to take any first team reps thus far in training camp. So how much of a competition is it if Hart’s not getting a fair share of the first team reps to demonstrate what he can do.
Marshall Newhouse was originally signed as a free agent in 2015, to add reserve depth to the offensive line but ended up starting last season when Will Beatty went down. At this point, the manner in which Reese and McAdoo are talking about Hart having a chance to start, it’s clear that the team is not sold on Newhouse returning as a starter. Newhouse clearly has to prove to the coaching staff over the course of training camp and the pre-season that he’s up to the challenge or Hart may usurp the starting role from him.
Halfway through training camp, the high profile free agent options have long since left the market so the team is seemingly stoking the fires of competition in hopes of raising the level of the players currently competing for the job. Whether Hart rises to the challenge remains to be seen but if he performs well and is given some first team reps to prove that he’s ready, the Giants may have a difficult decision to make. The opportunity is there for him but until he raises the bar, the starting job still appears to belong to Newhouse.
Dan Evans is a Contributing Writer for PureSportsNY.com You can follow him on Twitter @DanEvansPSNY