Giants close facility indefinitely, but go about their business by bringing Dion Lewis, Corey Coleman on board
The New York Giants are no different from you during this coronavirus crisis: They’re working from home.
The NFL franchise closed its Quest Diagnostics Training Center headquarters at the end of business Friday until further notice, the Daily News learned Monday afternoon.
They had already suspended all business travel and sent most staff home nearly two weeks ago. But now every Giants employee from Joe Judge on down is working remotely for the foreseeable future, following New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s order of all nonessential businesses closed over the weekend.
Authorities have had preliminary discussions about using the Meadowlands Complex (parking lots, arena, MetLife Stadium, racetrack, etc.) as a staging area during the COVID-19 pandemic, if necessary, the News also learned. But there have been no official decisions or determinations. These are early and precautionary conversations.
“We’ll continue to work remotely, as most of the organization has done for the past 10 days,’ the Giants said in a statement. “Again, our concern is for the well-being of those in our organization, our staff and players, our fans. and the communities in which we all live.”
In the meantime, business continued Monday for the Giants with the signing of free agent running back Dion Lewis and the re-signing of wideout Corey Coleman.
Lewis, 29, who comes in on a oneyear contract, was released earlier this month by Tennessee as a cap casualty. He appeared in all 16 games but was an underutilized complement to an historically productive Derrick Henry, especially down the stretch as the Titans made a run to the AFC Championship Game.
Lewis played three seasons in New England (2015-17) while Judge was coaching special teams for the Patriots. And he is a smart player and good receiver who could replace Saquon Barkley at times on passing downs, given Barkley’s severe pass protection problems in year two.
Lewis joins Barkley, Wayne Gallman, Eli Penny and Jon Hilliman as the running backs on the Giants’ active roster at the moment. Buck Allen is a free agent.
Coleman, 25, meanwhile, returns on a one-year contract, per ESPN, after tearing his ACL on the first day of training camp last summer.
Coleman, the Cleveland Browns’ 15th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, joined the Giants in the middle of the 2018 season, made some big plays as a kick returner, and last offseason had worked his way up to the No. 3 receiver spot before going down in late July.
So the setback hurt, but Coleman said on breakup day on Dec. 30 that he had already been running on his ACL for a while. And he seems to have found an organization that embraces him after struggling to settle in early in his career in Cleveland — and in Buffalo and New England early in the 2018 NFL season.
“I’m eager to play,” Coleman said in December. “During this time off, I had to reflect on a lot of things in my life. I got to learn more. I finally got to sit back and watch. I haven’t watched a full season since I can’t even remember to be honest. So it makes me hungry. I’m ready to be back and prove to myself that my body’s good. I’m good.”
The Giants’ free agent acquisitions, by the way, will be able to sign contracts in the coming days and be announced as official Giants despite not having completed physical examinations in most cases. They will still be official pending those physicals, though, due to current restrictions imposed by the league and NFLPA on player-team visits and contact during the coronavirus pandemic.