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The New York Giants aren’t about to stop searching for more help at wide receiver. Their journey has taken them to working out 2021 Pro Bowler Jakeem Grant and former Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl winner Byron Pringle.
Big Blue hosted the pair on Monday, July 22, two days before the start of training camp, according to NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton. He also noted how the Giants “Brought in a QB with North Jersey ties to throw to the group: former Bergen Catholic star Jarrett Guarantano.”
Other tryouts were held for receivers T.J. Luther and Lincoln Victor, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Giving another passer a workout is necessary due diligence at football’s most important position. As is taking a look at a former Las Vegas Raiders blocker known to offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo.
Yet it’s the receivers who naturally garner more attention. Particularly given the Giants’ long-standing woes at the position.
Those woes were supposed to be fixed by the Giants selecting Malik Nabers sixth overall in the 2024 NFL draft. Yet, the rookie is just one piece of an evolving puzzle.
The Giants need more weapons for a passing game stuck in a seemingly perpetual state of transition. Both Grant and Pringle have the big-play ability that’s been missing from one part of the offense for too long.
Byron Pringle is Well Known to Giants
Pringle is already well known to the Giants, and not just because he spent the 2023 season with NFC East rivals the Washington Commanders. He was also a member of the Chiefs when Giants’ offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was on the coaching staff in Kansas City.
Kafka coached quarterback Patrick Mahomes and served as passing game coordinator when Pringle was in the lineup from 2019-22. While Kafka won’t call plays for the Giants this season, he could still give head coach Brian Daboll his endorsement of Pringle’s talents.
What Pringle does best is stretch the field with game-breaking speed. He was a credible member of the Chiefs ‘Legion of Zoom’ receiver corps that helped the franchise win the 2020 Super Bowl.
Pringle also developed a knack for making tough catches. Like when he snagged this jump ball in traffic against the Tennessee Titans in 2021, highlighted by Heavy on Chiefs’ Devon Clements.
Another improbable grab saw Pringle reel in an unlikely touchdown for the Chicago Bears against the New York Jets in 2022.
Pringle hardly had the chance to prove himself for the Commanders, hauling in a mere 14 catches during his lone year in Washington. Yet, a small sample size shouldn’t deter the Giants from taking a long look at a wideout who’s swift, tough and resourceful.
Grant doesn’t have the same well-rounded game, but his playmaking potential could be even more enticing.
Jakeem Grant Has Pro Bowl Pedigree
A Pro Bowl pedigree is ample proof of Grant’s core skills. He’s well-travelled, but the former Miami Dolphins, Bears and Cleveland Browns wideout has a solid history of big plays as a pass-catcher, runner and returner
Grant proved his worth on special teams with this 97-yard punt return against the Green Bay Packers in 2021.
Production has never been a problem for Grant, but fate has conspired against him. As Stapleton put it, the 31-year-old “was absolutely electric as a returner, but he had consecutive devastating injuries: an Achilles and then a ruptured patellar tendon. Just a brutal double, so see where he is physically.”
It’s worth the Giants finding out exactly how much Grant has left. The return game was a disaster last season when running back Eric Gray was forced into an ill-suited role.
Grant and Pringle could help the Giants solve an under-the-radar problem, but they would also need to make an impact in a Nabers-led receiver group still lacking an additional playmaker or two.
