New York Giants guard Chris Snee retired from the game of football on July 21. Snee, 32, has been struggling to recover from off-season elbow surgery and doesn’t believe he’d be able to play in his 11th season. During his professional career, he was a member of two Super Bowl championship teams and named to the Pro Bowl four times. He was also named to the All-Pro team three times.
According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Snee “felt worse by continuing to work out.” He would later go on to say, “I am nowhere near the level of strength that I usually have. That’s been my game for 10 years, being one of the strongest players out there and using that to my advantage. If I don’t have that, I wouldn’t be able to do my job the way I expect, but also with what they expect of me.”
Now the Giants, already in need of a talent upgrade to their feeble offensive line, must find an upgrade for arguably the greatest offensive lineman in team history. Without an improvement, the Giants risk duplicating last year’s poor performance that saw them allow constant pressure on Eli Manning and led them to a 0-6 start to the season.
For now, the answer at guard lies between John Jerry and Brandon Mosley. John Jerry is a veteran guard from the Miami Dolphins, acquired just this off-season and is best known for his role in the infamous bullying scandal. Mosley is the team’s fourth round pick from the 2012 draft, and has impressed coaches taking first-team snaps in minicamp. If I had to bet on anyone winning the job it would be Mosley, as the Giants usually aim to push their draft selections into starting roles to see if they are worth keeping when their rookie contracts run up.
If that is the case, the Giants line can be the youngest and most inexperienced we’ve seen in years. Second-year tackle and last year’s first round pick Justin Pugh will man down the right tackle spot, Mosley could be at right guard to replace Snee, and this year’s second round pick Weston Richburg is favored to win a battle with newcomer J.D. Walton for the center spot. Add in left tackle Will Beatty, and new addition, Geoff Schwartz, and you can see that this New York Giants offensive line is full of inexperience, youth and uncertainty. Nonetheless, one thing is for certain for the New York Giants; their youthful line must grow up quick if the Giants are to contend in the NFC East this upcoming season.
Sports Minded 