It took Paulson Adebo all of one play to remind New York Giants fans why he isn’t their starting cornerback anymore.
Greg Newsome II and Deonte Banks both briefly left Sunday night’s 28-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys in the second half, giving Adebo a chance to make his case for more playing time. Dallas wasted no time hunting for him. On third-and-12, Dak Prescott went right at Adebo for a 15-yard completion to CeeDee Lamb to keep the drive alive.
For anyone who followed Adebo’s rough summer, it probably looked all too familiar. The Cowboys eventually finished the drive with a touchdown, while Adebo’s first opportunity of the season looked an awful lot like the practices that helped Newsome and Banks take his job in the first place.
Paulson Adebo quickly showed Giants why Deonte Banks won the starting job
It’s pretty wild how quickly Adebo’s standing in New York has changed. The G-Men signed him to a three-year, $54 million contract last offseason with the intent of him becoming their CB1.
His first season never came close to matching that expectation. Injuries limited him to 12 games, and Pro Football Focus ranked the 27-year-old 75th among 114 eligible cornerbacks with a 57.9 coverage grade.
Then came a new coaching staff and an offseason Adebo would probably like to throw into the Hudson.
He struggled throughout training camp while Banks and Newsome went in the opposite direction. The former first-round picks took advantage of their opportunities with the first-team defense and stole both starting jobs.
Even though he was on the outside looking in, there was at least some curiosity about what Big Blue would do once the season started. Maybe the former Stanford standout would rotate in. Maybe he’d work his way back into the starting lineup if either of them struggled. Maybe his contract would earn him a longer leash. Nope.
Giving up one 15-yard completion isn’t some grand declaration that Adebo’s season is over. But it was impossible to ignore how bad it looked. For a guy trying to reclaim a starting spot, you just can’t come in on third-and-long and immediately give up a first down. Harbaugh isn’t going to reward something like that.
That’s probably the biggest development for Adebo coming out of Week 1. He’s not splitting snaps or waiting for Harbs to hand him his old job back. He’s CB3.
That can change -- there’s a whole lot of football left. Banks and Newsome might've won the starting spots, but neither has exactly spent their careers as the poster child for lockdown corner play. Adebo will have opportunities to work his way back into the conversation if one of them struggles or his own play improves. Adebo should get more chances to make Harbs think twice about the depth chart. Just give it time.
While it's hardly a doomsday scenario for the sixth-year defensive back, it is a pretty lousy first step toward getting his job back.
Add us as a preferred source on Google