Despite deals, players won’t wave white flag
Don’t tell the Giants about the white flag raised outside their building.
After trading away their second defensive starter in as many days, the 1-6 Giants don’t believe their front office is surrendering this season and thinking only about the future.
“The giving-up-on-the-season narrative, I really think that’s disrespectful to the guys in the locker room,” coach Pat Shurmur said Wednesday evening.
The first shoe to drop came Tuesday afternoon, an off day for the Giants, when Eli Apple was traded to the Saints for a 2019 fourth-round pick and a 2020 seventh-rounder. By the time they woke up Wednesday, Damon Harrison was gone, too, sent to the Lions for a 2019 fifth-round pick.
The reactions inside the locker room varied from shock to it being part of the business, but players agreed with their coach on what it meant for this group.
“We’re not throwing in the towel at all, man. I honestly think that’s disrespectful to us players,” said cornerback B.W. Webb, who may be in line for more playing time in Apple’s spot. “We don’t go into any game thinking we’re just gonna throw it away. We fight every week, there are people out there playing for their families, their kids, for each other. It’s disrespectful when we hear that, somebody say we’re tanking or something like that.”
That didn’t mean there wasn’t an element of surprise, however. “It’s crazy, I was shocked,” Webb said. There were no eggshells visible on the floor of the locker room Wednesday, but the players inside of it couldn’t be blamed if they still feel like they’re walking on them until Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline.
“I feel like people on the outside may think that, but in the locker room, that’s not the feeling we have at all,” said Dalvin Tomlinson, who could return to his natural position at nose guard with Harrison gone. “We’re all just starving to get that win.”
But they also know the business they’re in, and with two trades already completed, general manager Dave Gettleman could stay busy trying to improve the Giants’ future with more moves to come.
“Anything could happen at any moment,” said linebacker and captain Alec Ogletree, who was traded to the Giants during the offseason. “Our job is to come in here and focus and do what you can while you’re here. You never know when your last snap for this team could be.”
Harrison, the former Jet, tweeted his goodbye to the area he called home for the first seven years of his career.
“I gave my absolute best every play of every game,” Harrison wrote in a post Wednesday. “Sorry I let you guys down.”
The Giants spent Wednesday holding meetings, workouts and a jog-through instead of practice after Monday’s game against the Falcons.
But there was also some processing to be done and talks to be had among the players about how to move past the trades and turn their focus to the Redskins on Sunday.
“Coming in today, everybody getting that initial shock out, then it’s like, all right, lot of young guys will get a chance,” safety and captain Michael Thomas said. “It’s a production-based business and we’re 1-6. You gotta expect changes. But at the same time, it’s never easy.”