There’s no such thing as a quiet James Hudson III rep. Not in Cleveland, not with the New York Giants, and definitely not in 1-on-1s against Kayvon Thibodeaux. The guy is all gas, no breaks, and no apology, which, quite frankly, is exactly what the G-Men needed.
Hudson signed a two-year, $12 million deal this offseason to serve as Big Blue’s primary swing tackle. But if you ask him, it’s not just a backup gig, it’s something a little more high-leverage than that:
"When I signed, I kind of compared it a pitcher closing a game," Hudson said. "When one of the tackles goes down or anything like that, that can be at any point in a game whether that's in the third quarter, the fourth quarter, whenever, you have to come in there and there's no drop-off. It's one of the most important roles in football."
We're not saying that Yankees Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera might want to keep a spare No. 42 handy... but we're not not saying it.
James Hudson knows exactly what the Giants signed up for
Hudson’s not here to be some silent depth piece going through the motions. That much was obvious the moment he started tossing edge rushers through planet Earth (cough — Thibodeaux — cough) in the first week of training camp.
Between the borderline brawls and the never-come-down energy, he’s made himself impossible to ignore, which is exactly what the Giants are looking for.
Head coach Brian Daboll won’t admit he enjoys the fights, but he made it pretty clear that he’s into the edge. Jermaine Eluemunor called him intense. The kind of guy you have to physically reel back in. Which, to be fair, is a pretty good trait for someone whose job description is “be ready when everything’s on fire.”
The reality is that Hudson is here because this team has lived the nightmare. No Andrew Thomas, no plan. A million different offensive line combos. Bottom-tier pass protection. They’re over it. This time, they went the proactive route. Hudson has played both sides of the line, started 17 games, and clearly isn’t afraid of the moment... or a little extracurricular brawling in the trenches.
He may not be Andrew Thomas, and he doesn’t have to be. But if he can slam the door when someone goes down, that’s worth every bit of the $12 million. He’s not here to play meaningful reps... that would actually mean things have gone sideways. But he’s here to shut things down when the team needs him.
So if the G-Men need someone to jog out of the bullpen in relief and put out the fire, Hudson’s already got his (upper) cutter ready.