Beatty, Big Blue opt for reunion
Desperate times call for desperate actions and that is why Will Beatty is once again employed to play for the Giants.
As much as the coaching staff and front office acted and sounded as if the offensive line was going to be fine, results this summer showed otherwise and a move was made Tuesday to import some help — help in the form of a familiar face. Things did not end well with Beatty — the Giants’ second-round pick in 2009 — but both sides believe a reunion can work.
“Will expressed significant interest in returning to the Giants and he got his wish,’’ a source familiar with Beatty’s signing told The Post.
This is not merely a looksee for Beatty. He received a fully guaranteed one-year deal for $1.1 million, plus another $750,000 in incentives largely based on playing time. The source said the Giants are looking at Beatty as a right tackle, a spot he played sparingly (four starts as a rookie) before moving in as the starting left tackle in 2011, a role he filled for four consecutive seasons. That means Beatty will compete with Marshall Newhouse, the incumbent right tackle, for a starting job.
Beatty, 31, missed the entire 2015 season, as he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the spring and then needed shoulder surgery, preventing him from making a comeback.
The Giants released Beatty on Feb. 10 and that certainly figured to signal the end of his career with the Giants. He was not exactly a favorite of Pat Flaherty, the longtime offensive line coach, and when the line struggled, Beatty often attracted the ire of fans frustrated with his lack of physical play.
There was not much action for Beatty in free agency, until the past few weeks. He was offered a contract by the Jaguars. The Panthers brought him in but did not sign him. The Saints had some interest. Beatty was scheduled to visit with the Cardinals in Arizona but he caught a wave of nostalgia and reached out to the Giants about a possible return.
Clearly, the Giants looked at the body of work by the offensive line this summer and felt the need to bring in reinforcements. This after they did not select any offensive linemen in the 2016 NFL Draft and did not sign any lineman of prominence in free agency, after making inquiries about Russell Okung, Jake Long, Donald Penn and Eugene Monroe.
The starting line, all returning from last season, did not generate anything as far as consistent push in the running game in the first three preseason games and the pass protection has been suspect.
Beatty is a left tackle but the Giants have no interest in moving second-year Ereck Flowers out of that spot. Newhouse, a veteran and former starter for the Packers, came back as the starting right tackle but the decision was made to
sign a player who likely will not only push for the starting job, but ultimately take it. Beatty has not been in anyone’s training camp and will need time to re-acclimate to the rigors of football life. “You never say never,’’ coach Ben McAdoo said Tuesday — before the Beatty signing — about possibly adding an offensive lineman. “You’re going to look at everybody who gets waived out there. Everyone who gets cut is a possibility to add to your roster, to improve. So, at any position, you’re always going to look to get better.” Beatty was on the practice field at 7 a.m. Tuesday, with the coaching staff and general manager Jerry Reese there to watch him work out. Included in the group was Mike Solari, the new offensive line coach. The Giants liked what they saw and then whisked Beatty to the Hospital for Special Surgery for a medical workup. His pectoral and shoulder came back clean and a contract was put together with the Giants and Beatty’s agents, Alan Herman and Jared Fox. A day before Beatty’s return, Newhouse expressed confidence what is ailing the offensive line would be fixed in time for the regular season. “We recognize there’s work to be done but we’re so confident and so excited to get that work done and see it come to fruition, even as we’re struggling a little bit in preseason,’’ Newhouse told The Post. “But that’s part of the journey, that’s what is gonna make our success that much more when we put it together. We’ve got the guys to do it." Another guy, a blast from the recent past, has been added for ney. the jour-