NY Giants sign Joe Webb to practice squad, promote Niko Lalos | What it means
The NY Giants added Joe Webb to the practice squad, in case of a COVID-19 emergency.
NY Giants head coach Joe Judge saw the bind the Denver Broncos were placed in when the NFL forced them to play without a quarterback after their entire position group was added to the COVID-19 reserve list, and made a move Tuesday in hopes of preventing such a disaster.
Tuesday, the Giants signed quarterback and football Swiss Army Knife Joe Webb to the practice squad, and promoted defensive end Niko Lalos to the 53-man roster.
"“Talking about adding a fourth to that [quarterback] group, there’s a possibility of that,” Judge said recently. “We still haven’t finalized whether or not we want to bring them in or keep them at the hotel. I would think the initial conversation would be whoever it is we bring in, just due to the fact that they haven’t been with the team or maybe any team for some period of time, you’re going to want to get them around the team at some point, to at least get out there and throw, take snaps, and be around the guys in some capacity.”"
A career 56.5 passer, Webb has 888 passing yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. However, he arrives in East Rutherford as more than a quarterback.
Webb last played in 2018, but in terms of this COVID-19 season where the Broncos were forced to start practice squad wide receiver Kendall HInton in a loss to the Saints two weeks ago, the 34-year-old provides some emergency depth at quarterback but he also has experience as a wide receiver and kickoff returner.
Lalos has produced takeaways in each of his first two games, intercepting a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals and recovering a fumble in Sunday’s Giants win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The Giants also on Tuesday protected quarterback Clayton Thorson, wide receiver Binjemen Victor, cornerback Quincy Wilson and long snapper Carson Tinker.
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Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.