Getty The New York Giants signed troubled 2020 first-round pick OL Isaiah Wilson to their practice squad on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.
After starting off the season 0-3, the New York Giants have already reached the point of desperation.
Especially given the amount of injuries they’ve suffered along their offensive line. On Wednesday, September 29, 2021, the Giants decided to take a flier on a talented, but troubled offensive tackle.
According to Bobby Skinner of Talkin Giants, the organization signed 2020 first-round pick Isaiah Wilson to their practice squad. This report by Skinner was later confirmed by NFL Network.
Giants are signing OT Isaiah Wilson to their practice squad, per source.
2020 1st Round pick out of Georgia who was teammates with Andrew Thomas. #MediaScum
The Giants hosted Wilson for a tryout on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 and apparently they saw enough to give him another chance.
Wilson was selected No. 29 overall out of the University of Georgia by the Tennessee Titans, but battled COVID-19 for an extensive period of time between July and October 2020. He was also arrested for a DUI in September of 2020 as well.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of his troubles, as Wilson served a one-game suspension in December of last season for violating team rules, before getting placed on the reserve/non-football illness list for the remainder of the year.
This past January, Wilson was arrested once more following a high-speed chase in Georgia. Afterwards, he sent out a tweet that he was done playing for the Titans, which he then deleted.
The Titans traded Wilson to the Miami Dolphins for a 2022 seventh-round pick shortly thereafter. However, the Dolphins cut him after just three days because Wilson showed up late for his physical and missed two team workouts.
Now, the Giants have opted to give Wilson another shot. The 6″6, 350-pound lineman has a lot of potential, but he must prove that his off the field troubles are behind him in order to make the most of his opportunity of redemption.
Familiarity
We all know this current Giants’ regime is enamored by the football factory down in Georgia. After the signing of Wilson, New York now has four former Bulldogs in the building in Wilson, Andrew Thomas, Lorenzo Carter and Azeez Ojulari.
Not to mention, they also selected DeAndre Baker out of Georgia in the first-round of the 2019 NFL draft, who was cut last year due to legal allegations, which wound up getting exonerated later on.
As for Wilson, he is set to be reunited with his counterpart in college, as he played right tackle at Georgia, opposite of Giants’ 2020 No. 4 overall draft pick Andrew Thomas.
While tackle is hardly the Giants’ biggest issue at the moment, after losing left guard Shane Lemieux (torn patellar tendon in left knee) and center Nick Gates (lower leg fracture) to season-ending injuries, New York is hoping they can help Wilson revive his once promising career.
Especially since 2020 third-round pick Matt Peart has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff, getting beaten out at right tackle by veteran Nate Solder during preseason.
Taking Another Flier?
It is no secret that the Giants’ defense has gotten off to a poor start through the first three weeks of the regular season.
And to make matters worse, they lost the heart and soul of this unit in linebacker Blake Martinez on Sunday, September 26, 2021, who went down with a torn ACL.
While Martinez is certainly irreplaceable, the Giants might want to take a chance on another talented linebacker who just hit the open market.
Jamie Collins, a 2016 Pro Bowl outside linebacker, was just released by the Detroit Lions after the team was unable to trade him. Collins signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Lions in 2020, and the reason they wanted to get rid of him was to give some of their younger players more snaps, per head coach Dan Campbell.
Collins was inactive in Week 3, and totaled 10 tackles and a fumble recovery through the first two games of the season. However, he had a rough final contest in Detroit, as he failed to apply any pressure to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who consistently picked him apart in coverage on Monday Night Football in Week 2.
With the exemption of rookie Azeez Ojulari, who has accumulated three sacks and a forced fumble through his first three career games in the NFL, the Giants’ defense lacks pass rushers and Collins’ ability to get after the quarterback might be worth enough to bring him in.
Since entering the league in 2013, Collins has racked up 25.5 sacks and 51 quarterback hits. He also spent the first 3.5 seasons of his career with Joe Judge, who was the special teams coach for the New England Patriots, as well as Patrick Graham, Collins’ position coach from 2014-15.
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