Getty Giants DB Montre Hartage.
The New York Giants will be without Devonta Freeman for at least another three games, as the team’s starting running back was officially placed on injured reserve on Saturday. To fill the void left behind by Freeman, the Giants will once again rely on the trio of Wayne Gallman, Dion Lewis and Alfred Morris, the latter of which has been signed off the team’s practice squad.
Joining Morris on the active roster will be defensive back Montre Hartage. Both players have been called up to the active roster in each of the past two weeks using a “standard exemption.” However, as Giants.com’s Michael Eisen notes, teams are permitted only two such exemptions per practice squad player, meaning New York had to formally sign both Morris and Hartage to the roster in order to have them available come Sunday.
Morris is fresh off a season-high nine carry, 67-yard performance, leading all Giants running backs on the day with an outstanding 7.44 ypc average.
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Hartage Could Surprise With Giants Ailing in the Secondary
While Morris certainly carries the bigger name of the bunch, Hartage could potentially find himself in just as large of a role as the running back in the next coming weeks. Listed as a “defensive back” on the Giants’ official roster, Hartage has experience playing both the cornerback and safety position, the former of which could certainly come in handy for a team depleted at the cornerback spot opposite James Bradberry.
The team’s starting boundary cornerback Ryan Lewis landed on IR earlier this month with a hamstring injury. Issac Yiadom, who has played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in place of Lewis each of the past two weeks, is currently listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with a calf injury. Even if available, the Giants could clearly use an upgrade. Yiadom allowed a perfect passer rating (158.3) against Washington a week ago, per Pro Football Focus. Corey Ballentine, the team’s opening week starter at the position, was unceremoniously waived earlier this week after logging just 17 defensive snaps over the past seven weeks.
Hartage’s ability to play safety could also allow New York to free up either Logan Ryan or Julian Love to slide down to cornerback if they were to so choose.
As a senior at Northwestern, Hartage was named a First-Team All-Big 10 selection in 2018, recording 51 tackles, 13 pass breakups, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. His play earned the praise of NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein, who claimed that “If teams don’t care for instincts, toughness and ball production, then they probably won’t like Montre Hartage.”
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