Daniel Jones, NY Giants’ offense sputters in first training camp practice

Daniel Jones and Kenny Golladay struggled to get into a rhythm during the first practice of NY Giants training camp 

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The NY Giants’ first training camp practice showed pretty clearly that this offense has a long way to go.

In what was a rather disjointed effort from third-year quarterback Daniel Jones, the offense never quite got into a rhythm during team periods.

During an individual drill, free agent prize wide receiver Kenny Golladay had a pretty bad drop in the end zone against air, and later one of Jones’ passes over the middle intended for Golladay seemed a bit low and was tipped near the line of scrimmage before falling incomplete.

Based on the issues getting on the same page, it wasn’t a surprise to see Jones and Golladay spending some extra one-on-one time throwing together after practice.

However, the biggest story of the day involves a player who likely won’t be on the roster come Thursday morning.

Very early in Wednesday’s practice, following what appeared to be a heated conversation with NY Giants head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman, tight end Kelvin Benjamin stormed off the field. The Giants say Benjamin is expected to be released Wednesday.

Here are takeaways from Wednesday’s first practice of NY Giants training camp:

Kadarius Toney returns … but doesn’t

The NY Giants activated Kadarius Toney from the COVID-19/reserve list Tuesday, but the rookie wide receiver did very little during Wednesday’s practice.

Toney began the individual drills catching passes off the JUGS machine, as other players on the Physically Unable to Perform list went through conditioning drills with the training staff on the side of practice.

However, Toney did not take part in any individual or team drills, and at the end of practice did not join in with the other players who practiced in wind sprints during the final “conditioning” period of the day.

Versatility to be name of the game along offensive line

Expect to see the NY Giants’ shuffle through some interesting offensive line combinations this summer.

Judge said prior to practice that Shane Lemieux and Will Hernandez will be working in at both the right and left guard spots, and that Matt Peart and Andrew Thomas will see snaps at both tackle positions.

"“You’re going to see all the tackles play right and left,” Judge said. “You’re going to see the guards play right and left. You’re going to see Nick Gates at times, we may flex him to guard or tackle. We’re always building our flexibility offensively to make sure that if something happens, we can interchange parts and keep on moving. Who knows, we may pick up somebody in the season who can play only left guard, or the strength is only left guard.”"

Cross-training offensive linemen is unique in the NFL, especially during a training camp setting, where preparation for the regular season reaches a crescendo. But, it seems Judge is building gin flexibility in case of injuries up front to be able to seamlessly shuffle personnel or optionality when it comes to bringing in a veteran, if necessary, to be able to plug and play.

Will Hernandez says he lost 20 pounds training this offseason, and isn’t worried about training at both guard positions this summer.

“I upped my training a lot more intensity, a lot more conditioning,” Hernandez says. “I did a lot of things different, ate different, but at the end of the day, it’s just training for football, practicing my craft, and just doing it on the other side.”

COVID-19 watch

NY Giants head coach Joe Judge revealed Tuesday that every coach and member of the staff had been vaccinated against COVID-19, but it was evident during practice that Judge has a long way to go to get his players fully vaccinated.

Unvaccinated players were forced to wear special shields on their helmet during practice and masks afterwards, and they were quite prevalent.

"“Look, we have a lot of guys on our team who will make individual choices,” Judge said, when asked if the full roster is vaccinated. “Our job is to educate them and, again, whatever choice they make we just make sure that they’re doing what’s right for the team by following the protocols.”"

Following practice, Leonard Williams revealed that he is between his first and second shot of the vaccine.

“I would encourage most people to do it [take the vaccine],” Williams said. “But, at the same time, everyone has their personal beliefs to do what they want to do. I’d encourage it, because certain protocols hinder us from being together in certain ways, and it would be better going forward health-wise.”

Whether it is getting players between doses their second shot, or continuing to help educate unvaccinated players on the benefits of the vaccine, the NY Giants are up against the clock as the team’s joint practices in Cleveland with the Browns and exhibition opener are just 21 days away, and it takes two weeks following the second dose to gain full immunity.

The NFL has set protocols stating unvaccinated players must wear masks around the facility, cannot lift in the weight room with teammates, eat with their teammates in the cafeteria, must take a different plane when traveling and quarantine in the team hotel on the road.

It will be interesting to watch as the summer progresses the NY Giants’ progress towards getting the full locker room vaccinated, to alleviate those restrictions.

Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com, Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL