Giants Could Reunite with Former Starting OT

The New York Giants will need all the help they can get on offense going into the 2024 season, and now, it’s a possibility that starting offensive tackle Tyre Phillips could return to the fold.

Phillips injured his quadriceps muscle in Week 17 of the 2023 season and underwent surgery in January 2024. Now, NFL insiders says Phillips could be healthy ahead of schedule and able to rejoin the Giants going into the new season.

Tyre Phillips’ Health Update

According to an August 23 post on X (formerly Twitter) from NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, Phillips is “making significant progress toward a return, per sources.”

The Giants could have some competition to get Phillips, however, as Schultz added that “several teams have shown interest in Phillips.”

On August 16, Dan Duggan of The Athletic also sent out a promising update about Phillips and the state of his recovery. Duggan said Phillips had progressed to returning to training at full speed.

“An update on Tyre Phillips, who suffered a torn quad tendon in Week 17 last season, per source: His strength and power is now at baseline pre-injury. He is now doing football training at full speed,” Duggan wrote on X. “The next step will be visits with teams to get checked out in the near future.”

Phillips, who is currently a free agent, made 27 career starts over his last four seasons with the Giants and Baltimore Ravens.

Tyre Phillips’ NFL Career to Date

Phillips has had a somewhat turbulent start in the NFL, due to injuries. He was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens but suffered an ankle injury during his first season. Then, Phillips tore his ACL in his second season and was released from the Ravens before his third season with the team.

In September 2022, the New York Giants inked Phillips. The Giants released him in August 2023, and Phillips became part of the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad later that month. However, in October, the Giants signed Phillips once again, filling in for Evan Neal.

Phillips started nine games last season with the Giants before injuring his quadriceps muscle. In his two seasons with the Giants, Phillips made a total of 14 starts and played in 22 regular-season games. He also played in two postseason games during the 2022-23 playoffs.

It could benefit the Giants to add Phillips, a player with both starting experience and familiarity with the Giants, back to the roster. In 2023, Phillips notched a 64.5 PFF pass-blocking grade across 334 pass-blocking snaps. He also only had 21 pressures and two sacks given up.

As the Giants finalize their 53-man roster ahead of the regular season, Phillips is a player who wouldn’t be surprising to see make the cut. The New York Giants had the worst offensive line in the NFL in 2023, with PFF noting that, “Even after earning the worst offensive line grade of any team in 2023, the Giants did very little to improve their unit this offseason.” So, adding an experienced and proven guard in the lineup wouldn’t be a shocking move.

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