Punches Thrown as Fight Breaks Out at Giants Practice: Report

Brian Daboll

New York Giants The New York Giants had a fight break out during non-contact practice.

Things got a little heated at New York Giants practice this week, as two players reportedly exchanged punches in a fight that broke out during Thursday’s Organized Team Activities (OTA).

The two players involved in the scuffle were offensive lineman Korey Cunningham and linebacker Quincy Roche, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

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“FIGHT!” Duggan reported on Twitter. “Looked like OL Korey Cunningham and LB Quincy Roche were in the middle of it. Punches were thrown. Maybe watching too many Rangers games.”

Cunningham, 27, is a fifth-year pro who appeared in 12 games (zero starts) for the Giants last season. He is currently buried on the depth chart at offensive tackle.

Roche, 24, is a former sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers who saw his first NFL action with the Giants last year. He played in 14 games, starting three of them, and finished the 2021 season with 38 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

While Cunningham is unlikely to slide up the depth chart, Roche has some momentum coming off of last season. He may be trying to get noticed by the new regime, after the Giants brought in fellow edge defenders Kayvon Thibodeaux (fifth-overall draft pick) and Jihad Ward (free agency) this offseason.

First-year head coach Brian Daboll might want to remind Cunningham, Roche and the rest of the team that OTA workouts are supposed to be non-contact practices. The Giants will get a chance to hit a little bit when they open up mandatory minicamp in June.


Lots of Red Jerseys at Giants Practice

We recently wrote about wide receivers Kadarius Toney and Sterling Shepard wearing red non-contact jerseys, but they’re far from the only ones. Art Stapleton of The Record reports that there are “A LOT” of red jerseys at Giants practice.

“There are A LOT of red jerseys for the Giants so far in OTAs,” Stapleton reported. “It’s always a difficult predictor this time of year when it comes to availability: judging what is them being smart and what is something to be concerned about.”

We now know that Toney’s red jersey is the result of a microscopic knee surgery, but the details about other players wearing red jerseys are scant. One of those players is first-round rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux.

“Kayvon Thibodeaux working on the bike in a red jersey,” Jordan Raanan of ESPN shared on Twitter. “He was [thrown] to the ground and got twisted late in Thursday’s OTAs. Seems to have been in red (injured player) jersey ever since.”

Daboll played down any concerns about Thibodeaux’s long-term availability.

“I don’t think there’s really any [long-term concerns],” Daboll said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News (h/t Pro Football Talk). “We’ll see. It’s day-to-day. I’m talking about everybody. I think the red jersey guys are making progress and hopefully we’ll have everybody ready to go.”

Another key player in a red jersey at Giants practice is Andrew Thomas, who was reportedly “limping pretty heavily” after having offseason ankle surgery (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN).

Third-round rookie Joshua Ezeudu, who projects as a guard at the NFL level, saw first-team reps in place of the injured Thomas at practice, per Raanan.


Giants Are Most Injured Team Since 2009

If you watch a lot of Giants games you probably didn’t need this reminder, but the Giants are the most injured team in the NFL since 2009, according to a study conducted by ManGamesLost.com back in January.

The Giants can keep changing things up at the highest levels, but injuries seem to follow this team regardless of who’s running the show in New York.

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