Mark Glowinski

Giants To Release OL Mark Glowinski

Mark Glowinski‘s stint with the Giants has come to an end after two years. The team is releasing the veteran guard, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Glowinski signed a three-year, $20MM deal with the Giants back in 2022. This move will save the organization $5.7MM against the cap, per Fowler.

The former fourth-round pick served mostly as a backup during his time with the Seahawks, but he emerged as a starter while in Indianapolis. Glowinski started 55 of his 59 appearances for the Colts, with Pro Football Focus grading him as a top-25 guard in three of his four seasons with the team.

The cash-strapped Giants made him one of their big-name signings during the 2022 offseason, and the veteran ended up starting all 16 of his appearances during his first season in New York. Things didn’t go nearly as well during his second season.

Glowinski was benched following a poor Week 1 showing, with Marcus McKethan taking over as the starting right guard. Glowinski was only used as an injury fill-in for the rest of the season, starting six of his 13 appearances. The 31-year-old lineman was limited to only 520 offensive snaps, his lowest total since 2017.

The veteran guard will likely have to settle for a one-year deal during this visit to free agency, but Pro Football Focus shows that the lineman hasn’t completely fallen off. The site graded him 25th among 79 qualifying guards this past season, including a top-15 grade for his run-blocking ability.

Latest On Giants’ Offensive Line

Andrew Thomas‘ absence was glaringly visible on a historically bad pass-protection night. The Giants’ 11 sacks allowed set a Monday Night Football record, with backup left tackle Joshua Ezeudu struggling as the Seahawks padded their total late in the rout.

The Giants are expected to be without Thomas against the Dolphins as well. Brian Daboll said he is leaning no on the All-Pro left tackle coming back for Week 5. Thomas sustained a setback on his way back from the strained hamstring he suffered in Week 1, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. This will make four straight absences.

Ezeudu, who worked as a backup left tackle during parts of training camp, was expected to win one of the guard battles this summer. But those went to Ben Bredeson and Mark Glowinski. Though, the team’s setup inside has changed as well. Despite signing a three-year deal worth $18.3MM, Glowinski has endured multiple demotions this season. The Giants benched the longtime Colts starter after his Week 1 struggles, and the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy notes the veteran has been bumped to the bottom of the depth chart.

New York demoted Glowinski a second time during Week 2, and he did not play an offensive snap in Week 3. Bredeson and 2022 fifth-round pick Marcus McKethan, who missed all of his rookie year due to an ACL tear, opened Week 4 as Big Blue’s guard starters. Pro Football Focus ranks all three blockers outside the top 55 among guards. Shane Lemieux started ahead of Glowinski in Week 3 but suffered a groin injury Monday. The door keeps reopening for Glowinski, a four-year Colts right guard starter whom PFF viewed as a top-30 guard in his first Giants season. A 2024 release seems likely at this point, however. That move will save the Giants $5.7MM.

The Giants did not invest much in guards this offseason, having signed Glowinski in March 2022 and drafted Ezeudu in Round 3 a month later. No answers have come for the team, which has also seen right tackle Evan Neal continue to struggle. This allowed for Seahawks target practice on Daniel Jones on Monday night, and the Giants have since added Justin Pugh. The former 2013 Giants draftee joined the practice squad, but given the team’s guard state, the five-year Cardinals starter should be expected to be elevated soon.

Some additional shuffling became required after center John Michael Schmitz suffered a shoulder injury on the Giants’ failed “Tush Push”-style QB sneak. Adding insult to injury, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes tight end Daniel Bellinger sustained an MCL strain on that play. While Bellinger’s injury is seen as moderate, the Giants losing two regulars on that play — after only previously repping it in a walkthrough setting — compounds the troubles they are experiencing up front.

Matt Peart resides as the only other tackle on the Giants’ roster, in the event the team benches Ezeudu. Thomas, who is now the NFL’s second-highest-paid O-lineman after signing a $23.5MM-per-year extension this summer, is on track to match his career high for single-season absences. He missed four games in 2021 as well.

Giants Did Not Look Into High-Priced FA Guards; LT Andrew Thomas Out For Week 2

SEPTEMBER 17: Thomas is indeed inactive for Sunday’s game, as the Giants will play it safe with their blindside blocker. An improved performance compared to Week 1 will be needed up front for New York, but their O-line will be shorthanded against the Cardinals.

SEPTEMBER 14: First- or second-round picks are stationed at both tackle spots and center along the Giants’ offensive line, but middling guard investments join the Andrew ThomasEvan NealJohn Michael Schmitz trio. Against the Cowboys, the Giants’ O-line plan did not hold up.

Dallas’ top-tier pass rush sacked Daniel Jones seven times and tallied 15 quarterback hits in the 40-0 drubbing Sunday night. ESPN’s pass block win rate metric graded both Neal and right guard Mark Glowinski in the bottom three at their respective positions in Week 1, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes.

The team used Glowinski and Ben Bredeson as its guard starters. This came after a lengthy competition, one that featured 2022 third-round pick Joshua Ezeudu vying for a role. The Giants expected Ezeudu to beat out Bredeson, a 2021 trade acquisition, for the left guard job, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post notes. This optimism helped influence the Giants to not pursue a notable free agency guard addition. The team had been mentioned as interested in retaining Nick Gates, but the Commanders signed him and deployed the ex-Giants starter at center in Week 1.

The Giants preferred to devote funds to retaining their own talent this offseason, giving Jones, Thomas and Dexter Lawrence pricey extensions. Saquon Barkley‘s $10.1MM franchise tag also limited how Big Blue could devote its free agency dollars. The team had also given Glowinski a three-year, $18.3MM deal ($11.4MM guaranteed) in 2022. Despite Pro Football Focus rating Glowinski as a top-30 guard last year, the Giants held a three-way guard battle in training camp. The 31-year-old blocker kept his RG gig but enters Week 2 under a microscope after his showing against the Cowboys.

Outside options do exist at guard for the Giants. Justin Pugh, who began his career with the team and started at guard and tackle following a 2013 first-round investment, has expressed interest in rejoining the team. Pugh, 33, is coming off a torn ACL sustained in October of last year. The five-year Cardinals starter said he was eyeing a Giants return in August, though the Syracuse alum has not been closely tied to a team since he received clearance to resume football work.

Oddly, Dalton Risner also remains a free agent. The four-year Broncos starter entered free agency as, at worst, a second-tier option at guard. But he did not sign anywhere and took the surprising path of remaining unattached entering the year. A handful of teams showed interest in Risner, who may well be waiting for an injury to shake up a team’s O-line plans. The 28-year-old blocker probably qualifies as the top option available.

Elsewhere on New York’s O-line, Thomas is battling a strained hamstring. An MRI revealed the All-Pro left tackle avoided a serious setback, per Raanan, but it is possible he misses some time. Injured after the Giants’ botched field goal attempt that resulted in a Cowboys TD, Thomas did not practice Wednesday. This offseason, the Giants gave the 2020 first-rounder a five-year, $117.5MM deal that sits second among tackles.

Matt Peart, a 2020 third-round pick, sits as the Giants’ swing tackle, though Schwartz adds Ezeudu has taken LT reps in practice over the past two weeks. Ezeudu spent time at tackle while at North Carolina. Moving to left tackle after failing to win a starting guard job in his second training camp might make be a stretch. Peart has not made a start since 2021; the UConn alum has six career starts.

Giants Holding Competitions At All Three Interior O-Line Spots

Making two top-10 picks at tackle over the past four years, the Giants have no questions at those positions. They also used a second-round choice on center John Michael Schmitz, and while the Minnesota product is a decent bet to begin his career as a starter, the Giants are not ensuring that route will open up just yet.

More notably, 2022 free agency addition Mark Glowinski does not appear a lock to keep his job, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post tweets. Swingman Ben Bredeson, who is also in contention for left guard, has mixed in regularly with the first team on the right side, with The Athletic’s Dan Duggan and Charlotte Carroll most recently noting Bredeson’s first-team RG usage (subscription required).

A 2021 trade acquisition from the Ravens, Bredeson has mixed in at all three spots along the Giants’ interior during training camp. He appears the top Schmitz competitor at center, while having begun recent practices (via Duggan) as the first-string left guard. Bredeson mixed in with Glowinski at right guard and 2022 third-round pick Joshua Ezeudu on the left side Tuesday. The former fourth-round pick is going into a contract year.

Bredeson being used at all three spots suggests the Giants have a potential swing role in mind, with Ezeudu also seeing steady first-unit time at left guard. Seeing the Joe Schoen-era Day 2 draftee seize the LG job alongside fellow Schoen pickups Schmitz and Glowinski would probably be the scenario the Giants prefer. Bredeson started eight games last season, playing a career-high 541 offensive snaps. The Giants lost center Jon Feliciano and guard/center Nick Gates in free agency; Bredeson would supply experience and represent insurance alongside Ezeudu (290 rookie-year snaps) and Schmitz.

Glowinski, 31, signed a three-year, $18.3MM deal that came with $11.4MM guaranteed. The longtime Colts starter gave the Giants 16 starts at right guard last season, as a rotation formed at the other guard post. Pro Football Focus graded Glowinski as last year’s No. 29 overall guard. It would be rather odd to see Glowinski benched, but the Giants are going through several options up front. Tyre Phillips, a 2022 waiver claim from the Ravens, has also taken first-team reps at left guard, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets.

This batch of blockers looks to have relegated Shane Lemieux to the roster bubble, Duggan adds. The fourth-year lineman has not been among the competitors for the Giants’ LG job. Lemieux has battled significant injury problems over the past two years, seeing a September 2021 patellar tendon tear keep him off the field until November 2022. A toe injury then limited Lemieux to one game all season. With the Giants activating former fifth-rounder Marcus McKethan from the active/PUP list Monday — after an August 2022 ACL tear — Lemieux will need to fight for a job during this year’s preseason. While Lemieux has mixed in as a backup center as well, Jack Anderson is also on the radar for that post.

The Giants chose Schmitz at No. 56 overall, viewing him as the better option compared to consideration Jalin Hyatt, whom they circled back to in Round 3. Just before the Schmitz pick, Brian Daboll said the All-Big Ten blocker could start in Week 1. Schmitz received every first-team center rep Tuesday, per Duggan and Carroll. It would surprise if he were not Big Blue’s starting pivot to open the season.

OL Notes: Giants, Radunz, Steelers, Brunskill

After fielding another below-average offensive line last season, one that saw key injuries reconfigure it early on in the campaign, the Giants loaded up on blockers this offseason. Newcomers Evan Neal, Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano are projected to start at right tackle, right guard and center, respectively. Andrew Thomas is the team’s unquestioned left tackle. That leaves left guard as the top competition area. Holdover Shane Lemieux appears to be the favorite for that job, via NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt, who notes the third-year player has been a full participant despite coming off a patellar tendon tear that cost him 16 games last season. Lemieux, who started down the stretch for the 2020 Giants and has received the first reps with the starters thus far, attempted to play through the severe knee injury in Week 1 but ended up missing the season’s remainder.

The Joe SchoenBrian Daboll regime, however, brought in third-round pick Joshua Ezeudu (North Carolina). Although Max Garcia arrived this offseason as well, Rosenblatt adds the Giants view the eighth-year veteran as more of a backup. This sets up a Lemieux-Ezeudu left guard battle, one that will determine if the Giants have three or four new starters up front.

Here is the latest from the NFL’s O-line scene:

  • The Titans lost two starters from their 2021 O-line — left guard Rodger Saffold and stopgap right tackle David Quessenberry — and are aiming to plug in former second-round pick Dillon Radunz. The North Dakota State product, who made just one start as a rookie, is vying for the team’s right tackle gig but also factors into the guard mix, Jim Wyatt of Titans.com offers. Radunz, chosen a year after would-be right tackle Isaiah Wilson became a quick bust, was a full-timer for the Bison from 2018-19 but lost the 2020 season due to the pandemic. The Titans used a third-round pick on Ohio State’s Nicholas Petit-Frere, representing another right tackle option. Third-year UDFA Aaron Brewer and ex-Seahawk Jamarco Jones are on the roster as left guard candidates.
  • Daniel Brunskill has started 35 straight regular-season games for the 49ers, slotting primarily at right guard. The fourth-year veteran has shown an ability to fill in at all five O-line spots, and Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle notes the 49ers would prefer Brunskill as a super-sub rather than as the full-time starter. For this reality to unfold, the team would need a viable replacement. Jaylon Moore, a 2021 fifth-round pick who has moved inside from tackle, represents competition for the 49ers’ right guard position. Given Brunskill’s experience, benching him would be quite the gamble for a team that lost five-year left guard Laken Tomlinson in free agency and looks set to lose center Alex Mack to retirement.
  • Steelers newcomers James Daniels and Mason Cole look set to play right guard and center, respectively, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, leaving a competition between two 2021 starters at left guard. The Steelers following through on the rumored move of center Kendrick Green to guard, his primary college position, has created a competition between he and Kevin Dotson — a 13-game starter through two years. Pro Football Focus graded Dotson well as a rookie, albeit in a small sample size, but an ankle injury doomed his sophomore NFL season. Green started 15 games last year; PFF graded the rookie third-rounder as one of the league’s worst centers. Given a three-year, $15.75MM deal, Cole coming to Pittsburgh has led to Green’s position switch.

Contract Details: Crosby, Gregory, Campbell, Conner, Jensen, Dissly, Glowinski

Here are the details from the latest agreed-upon contracts around the league:

  • Maxx Crosby, DE (Raiders): Four years, $94MM. The Raiders gave Crosby a $13MM signing bonus and have fully guaranteed his 2022 and ’23 base salaries ($3.5MM, $10MM), Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. Crosby’s 2024 base ($19MM) will become fully guaranteed in 2023. Crosby’s 2025 and ’26 salaries ($21MM apiece) are nonguaranteed. There are $200K-per-year incentives included for All-Pro nods as well.
  • Randy Gregory, OLB (Broncos): Five years, $70MM. Denver is giving Gregory a $10MM signing bonus and has the pass rusher attached to $4MM and $14MM base salaries in 2022 and ’23, respectively, per Brad Spielberger and Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus (on Twitter). Both years are fully guaranteed, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Gregory’s deal includes $1MM roster bonuses in 2025 and ’26.
  • De’Vondre Campbell, LB (Packers): Five years, $50MM. Green Bay is giving Campbell a $15MM signing bonus and has backloaded the base salaries. Campbell’s first two salaries check in at $1.1MM and $1.45MM, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. They spike to just north of $7MM by 2024. A $3MM roster bonus is also due on Day 3 of the 2023 league year, with a $2.9MM roster bonus due at the same point on the 2024 calendar.
  • Ryan Jensen, C (Buccaneers): Three years, $39MM. Jensen will see $23MM fully guaranteed, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. His 2022 breakdown goes $1.5MM base salary and $12.5MM roster bonus. $9MM of Jensen’s $12.5MM 2023 base salary is fully guaranteed, and the other $3.5MM shifts to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2023 league year.
  • Will Dissly, TE (Seahawks): Three years, $24MM (max value). The deal includes a $9.3MM signing bonus but is light on guaranteed salary. Dissly’s $1MM 2022 salary is fully guaranteed, while Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets the 2023 base ($5.64MM) is guaranteed for injury. The injury-prone tight end’s 2024 base ($6.49MM) is nonguaranteed.
  • James Conner, RB (Cardinals): Three years, $21MM. Conner’s deal includes $13.5MM guaranteed, per Kyed and Spielberger (on Twitter). Conner’s 2022 and ’23 base salaries ($1.75MM and $5.75MM) are fully guaranteed.
  • Mark Glowinski, G (Giants): Three years, $18.3MM. The Giants included a $4.5MM signing bonus, and Glowinski will have cap figures of $3.35MM (2022), $7.75MM (2023) and $7.2MM (’24). Glowinski is due a $1MM roster bonus in 2023 (Twitter links via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan).

Giants, G Mark Glowinski Agree To Deal

In need of another offensive line overhaul, the Giants added a piece Monday night. They agreed to sign former Colts guard Mark Glowinski, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Part of a top-tier Colts O-line for the past four seasons, Glowinski agreed to join the Giants on a three-year deal worth $20MM. The veteran inside blocker will receive $11.4MM fully guaranteed, RapSheet adds.

Although Glowinski was far from the best O-linemen the Colts deployed in recent years, he helped Indianapolis’ cause and started in each of his four seasons with the team. The Colts gave the ex-Seahawks fourth-round draftee a three-year, $16.2MM extension in January 2019, making this a slight pay bump for the seven-year veteran.

The Giants played shorthanded on their interior line throughout last season, seeing Nick Gates and Shane Lemieux suffer season-ending injuries early on. The team acquired Billy Price and Ben Bredeson as stopgaps, adding fellow ex-Raven Matt Skura as well. Both ex-Baltimore cogs are under contract for 2022, but four-year starter Will Hernandez is a free agent.

New York may well be starting over up front, with the exception of left tackle Andrew Thomas. Glowinski will certainly take over as one of the team’s starting guards, having made 74 career starts. But the team has more work to do up front going forward. The draft will be a key resource here, with the Giants the rare team to hold two top-10 picks in a draft.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/29/21

Several key players returned to practice Wednesday. Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Rico Bussey

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Colts Reached Out To Philip Rivers

The NFL revising its COVID-19 protocols yet again may allow the Colts to dodge a bullet. Carson Wentz is unvaccinated and tested positive Tuesday, but Frank Reich said he would start Sunday if he is asymptomatic, Stephen Holder of The Athletic tweets. Current Colts backup Sam Ehlinger would start if Wentz is experiencing symptoms at that point.

Reich has also remained in contact with the Colts’ 2020 starter, Philip Rivers. The two discussed the current Colts QB bind, Zak Keefer of The Athletic tweets. However, it does not seem like Rivers will come out of retirement to replace Wentz. Reich said nothing is developing on that front.

Rivers, 40, retired after spending last season with the Colts, but the current high school coach has said he would consider a return to join a contender. He was open to joining the Saints once Jameis Winston went down earlier this season. In his one Colts season, Rivers completed 68% of his passes and finished with a 24-to-11 TD-INT ratio. The Colts traded for Wentz not long after Rivers’ retirement.

Had the NFL not revised its protocols for a second time this month, Wentz would be shut down for Week 17 due to his positive test. Previously, unvaccinated players who tested positive were forced into 10-day quarantines. The NFL has reduced that to five, opening the door for Wentz to play Sunday. A sixth-round rookie, Ehlinger took first-team reps for a stretch after Wentz went down with a foot injury during training camp.

The Colts received more good news regarding their COVID-19 situation Wednesday. They activated offensive line starters Quenton Nelson and Mark Glowinski, along with cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and defensive end Kemoko Turay. However, right tackle Braden Smith is now on Indianapolis’ virus list. Smith could rejoin his teammates Sunday, however, regardless of vaccination status. Like Wentz, if Smith is not displaying symptoms, he could return Sunday against the Raiders. Smith was the Colts’ lone O-line starter available by the end of Week 16, but the team will have more of its starters on hand against Las Vegas.

Marlon Mack, cornerback T.J. Carrie, safety Jahleel Addae and linebacker Malik Jefferson join Smith as players now on Indy’s virus list.

Colts OLs Ryan Kelly, Mark Glowinski To Miss Saturday’s Game

The Colts continue to climb the AFC standings, but they’ll have to take on the formidable Cardinals on Saturday without two starting linemen. According to The Athletic’s Stephen Holder (on Twitter), linemen Ryan Kelly (personal) and Mark Glowinski (reserve/COVID-19 list) will both miss this weekend’s game.

Kelly was just named to his third-straight Pro Bowl, and the 28-year-old is having another standout season for Indy. He’s appeared in at least 90 percent of his team’s offensive snaps in his 12 starts. 2020 fifth-round pick Danny Pinter will likely get the start in place of Kelly.

Glowinski was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier today. The former fourth-round pick has generally been a starter throughout his time with the Colts, and he’s started 12 of his 14 games in 2021. Chris Reed could get the nod in Glowinski’s stead.

While the team’s going to have to deal with some absences on their offensive lineman, they can rest easy knowing All-Pro Quenton Nelson will be in uniform. Per Holder, the offensive lineman was back at practice today after dealing with an illness earlier this week.

In other injury news, Holder notes that the team will also be without Andrew Sendejo (concussion) on Saturday. The 34-year-old defensive back joined the Colts back in September, and he’s started 10 of his 12 games this season. collecting 40 tackles.