Why This Left Tackle Not Being Ready for Week One Is a Major Concern for the Giants

It’s never a good sign if any NFL player can’t commit to playing for the team due to an injury that occurred last season. Things are already tough in New York, and the Giants' season hasn’t even officially started yet. However, this is the predicament that the Giants are dealing with from their left offensive tackle, Andrew Thomas. With the upcoming season, the Giants will need everyone on their roster. The possibility of Thomas being out and potentially not starting in Week One brings concern to the Meadowlands already. 

Last season, Thomas suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in Week Six. It required surgery and put him on a rather long road to recovery. This type of injury usually takes six months to a year to heal. He has been very cautious about when he will play again. So far, he has missed all of the Giants’ practices during this offseason and has been trying to take it easy so he doesn’t reinjure his foot again. 

Thomas is considered one of the bigger pieces of the offensive line. When he went down last season, the creativity and the explosion completely disappeared despite the issues the offensive line was already dealing with. If he is not there, the quarterbacks may be unable to make the plays they need to. This was also an area that the Giants struggled with last season when they had both Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock on the field. No one on the offensive line made the stops to get the ball out in time. Hopefully, Thomas will be back to turn the offensive line around. 

Thomas has only appeared in 16 games throughout the last two seasons. When he has played, he has done a great job. His career has spanned 61 games, and he has started in 55. Last season, the Giants pulled through and got ahead with Thomas. Without him, there wouldn’t have been an offensive line. However, if he does not start in Week One, general manager Joe Schoen has already signed two more left tackles in hopes of fixing more of the Giants' offensive line: James Hudson III, who came from the Cleveland Browns, and Stone Forsythe, who came from the Seattle Seahawks. Both of them have shown promising skills, just as Thomas has.