Eight days later, DeAndre Baker was back on the practice field.
The rookie cornerback, who survived an ACL scare, returned to take part in individual drills, though he was held out of team drills.
“I feel good,” he said Monday. “It was very important to get out there, move around again, do some individual work.”
There are high hopes for the first-round pick (30th overall) out of Georgia who had been working with the first team opposite Janoris Jenkins before hurting his knee. The Giants traded up to get the 5-foot-11 Baker, sending the Seahawks their second-round pick at No. 37, along with fourth- and fifth-round selections. Baker didn’t allow a touchdown last year and won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top defensive back in college football.
“We’re going to move him back in there,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “So yeah, it’s good to have him back out there.”
Baker was unsure if he would get in another preseason game, but fully expects to be ready once the real games begin.
“I think I can help this team,” he said.
Shurmur declined to say whether Saquon Barkley will appear in a preseason game after being held out of the first two contests.
“I’ll let it reveal itself,” he said.
As for his plans for Thursday’s game again the Bengals, the Giants’ coach said playing time will be similar to the first and second games, meaning expect plenty of snaps for the backups. He did say the starters will play “more than a little bit,” however.
New right guard Kevin Zeitler’s pre-snap hitch, in which he rocks up vertically a few times before the ball is snapped, doesn’t bother Shurmur and center Jon Halapio doesn’t mind it either.
“It’s one of those things that he has,” Halapio said. “Wasn’t he the No. 1 pass-blocking guard last year? Pro Football Focus? So, if he needs to hitch 10 times, let the guy do whatever he needs to do to get the job done.”
Zeitler said he has been doing it since the seventh grade and has never been called for a penalty because of it.
“It’s just kind of ingrained” he said. “It’s just a little quirky thing.”
Former Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz attended practice as a spectator.
— Additional reporting by Steve Serby
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