Getty Former Bills quarterback Jake Fromm (R) and A.J. McCarron (L) were invited to work out with the Giants after Daniel Jones and his backup were injured.
The New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll plucked several former Buffalo Bills players to join them in the Meadowlands following their departure and heading into Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season, they’re continuing to pluck from that same familiar pool of talent.
Giants starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered an ankle sprain in Week 4 after which their backup quarterback, former Bills’ starter Tyrod Taylor, stepped in and subsequently suffered a concussion during the team’s 20-12 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, October 2.
If both quarterbacks remain out, the Giants’ only remaining quarterback is former Bills player Davis Webb, who is signed to their practice squad. The team has not yet officially named Webb as a starter, and before traveling to London to take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, October 9, Daboll and Schoen invited two more former Bills players to work out with the team on Tuesday.
“Free agent QB Jake Fromm is among #Giants workouts today,” Fowler tweeted. “Team on the lookout for potential passing depth in light of QB injuries.”
Is Jake Fromm serious right now?
Fromm was the Bills’ fifth-round pick from the 20202 NFL Draft. He remained with the team until November 2021, when he was initially signed to the Giants’ practice squad after Jones suffered a season-ending injury. The Georgia alum was given the chance to start two games at the end of the season under then-head coach Joe Judge, during which he finished the season with 27 passes for 210 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. He became an unrestricted free agent in March 2022.
Also on Tuesday, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweeted, “Among the QBs working out for the #Giants today is A.J. McCarron, sources say. He was with the #Bills in 2018, so there’s your Brian Daboll/Joe Schoen connection.”
McCarron, 34, spent the 2018 offseason and preseason in Buffalo before getting traded to the Raiders. The Alabama alum went on to spend two seasons with the Houston Texans before signing with the Atlanta Falcons in April 2021. McCarron suffered an ACL tear during Week 2 of the preseason and was placed on IR for the remained of the year.
Former Bills QB Webb Looks Most Likely to Become the Giants Starter in Week 5
GettyQuarterback Davis Webb #12 of the New York Giants celebrates after a touchdown during the preseason game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on August 28, 2022.
Despite having a strong preseason, Webb completed 60 of 81 passes for 458 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions during the Giant’s three preseason games, the team chose Taylor, who was signed in March, to be Jones’ official backup.
Webb had a previous connection with the Giants, as the franchise initially selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft when Eli Manning was the starting quarterback. The UC Berkley alum spent his rookie year on the practice squad before getting cut in 2018. After a year on the New York Jets practice squad, Webb signed on to be quarterback Josh Allen’s backup in 2019.
While appearing on ESPN’s Jordan Raanan’s “Breaking Big Blue” podcast on June 1, Webb said he followed Daboll to the Giants in hopes of throwing his first-ever career pass in the NFL, and that at age 27, he wasn’t ready to give up that dream.
Buffalo offered him the chance to still play while also taking on the role as a quarterback coach, but Webb knew he had a better chance of playing in the Meadowlands.
Webb said that he discussed his career as a player with his girlfriend, saying that if “there’s still an opportunity maybe down that road… to be on the 53-man roster, and have a chance to play in an NFL game, that’s a dream of mine and I would love to accomplish that.”
The Giants Signed Former Bills Linebacker A.J. Klein on Monday
GettyOutside linebacker A.J. Klein #54 of the Buffalo Bills during the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on November 15, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona.
Fromm and McCarron’s invite to work out with the Giants comes one day after the franchise signed former Bills linebacker A.J. Klein, who was released by Buffalo in March due to salary cap issues. By cutting Klein, the Bills cleared up $5.1 million for the 2022 NFL season.
Klein, 31, was entering the final year of his three-year, $18 million contract with the Bills. Over the last two seasons, the former fifth-round pick from the 2013 NFL Draft appeared in 31 games and made 15 starts, recording a total of 103 tackles, 5.0 sacks, and one interception.
According to Fowler, Klein is expected to start on the Giants’ practice squad with a “quick call-up” to the active roster before Week 5, if possible.