Just In: Giants Sign Offensive Tackle from 49ers Practice Squad to a five-year, $37.5 million contract to become…See Details
The New York Giants signed offensive tackle Chris Hubbard from the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.
Hubbard will take the roster spot that opened when the Giants placed left tackle Andrew Thomas on injured reserve earlier this week following his season-ending foot injury.
Hubbard, 6-4 and 295 pounds, played college ball at UAB. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers in 2013 and spent five seasons with them. He made his first start at right tackle for the Steelers in 2017 in place of injured Marcus Gilbert.
Hubbard signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract to become the team’s starting right tackle. While at Cleveland, Hubbard lost his starting job to Jack Conklin. He also dealt with Covid in 2020 and a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve late in the 2020 season.
Last year, he signed with the Titans to be their starting right tackle but landed on injured reserve with a biceps injury after nine games. In 2024, he signed with the 49ers but did not make their 53-man roster and instead landed on their practice squad, where he remained until the Giants came calling.
Hubbard has appeared in 94 games with 58 starts and can play left and right tackle. Per Pro Football Focus, he has allowed 151 pressures in 2,436 career pass-blocking snaps, a 96.2 pass-blocking efficiency rating.
The Giants needed additional depth on the offensive line at tackle, given that Evan Neal, who would be the next man up if Jermaine Eluemunor could not play on the right side, has primarily trained at right tackle.
Hubbard will likely need to get up to speed after arriving in East Rutherford on Friday, but he will eventually be the team’s swing tackle.
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Nick Sirianni’s act appears to be wearing thin on the outside. Just how warm is his seat even after changing coordinators?
It was a terrible look for the Eagles head coach to get into it with fans, though it’s unknown if they were Eagles or Browns fans. Either way, a bad, bad mistake, though he got into it with Kansas City fans after beating the Chiefs last November. It is wearing thin among the fan base, but Sirianni hasn’t lost the locker room based on comments that have emerged from inside there.
Jalen Hurts has been sloppy with his ball security. What do you attribute that to and do you get a sense the Eagles have buyer’s remorse with him after giving him that contract extension?
That said, he still has a bad habit of holding onto the ball too long and not making quick decisions, which has gotten him into trouble, and for a QB in his fifth season now, some of the mistakes he makes should not be happening. He did end his streak of turning the ball over in nine straight games against the Browns last week. So, there’s that.
How much has Saquon Barkley made in terms of a difference for the Eagles offense?
He has made a huge difference, especially since the Eagles were forced to play without A.J. Brown for three straight games and DeVonta Smith for a game with injuries, which put even more of a burden on him. He handled it well, though.
He has been everything the Eagles could have hoped for and more inside the locker room in terms of leadership and on the field in terms of production, with a team-high five touchdowns and fourth in the league in rushing despite only playing four games due to an early bye for the Eagles.
What can you tell us about the injuries from last week and the potential impact those players’ absences might have on the upcoming game?
Left tackle Jordan Mailata will have a streak of 34 straight starts end with a hamstring injury, and that is a significant loss. The backup, Fred Johnson, is a solid run blocker, but inconsistent in pass protection. The Eagles have flexibility on the line, though, and we could see former Jets tackle Mekhi Becton, who has started all five games at right guard, move outside and Philly plug in last year’s third-round pick, Tyler Steen at guard.
Tight end Dallas Goedert could also miss time, and whenever he misses games, the Eagles get very little production from the backups, so that would be a big loss as well.
What’s been holding back the pass rush?
It showed some life last week with five sacks of Browns QB Deshaun Watson, but Bryce Huff hasn’t been the player the Eagles had hoped they were getting as a free agent – not yet, anyway. They basically swapped Haason Reddick for him, viewing Huff as a younger, cheaper option and paying him on potential. Some see that as him trying to adjust to becoming a three-down player rather than the pass rush specialist he was with the Jets last year, and it does look like he may be thinking too much at times when he’s out there.
Some of the lack of rush before last week could be in players adjusting to new responsibilities deployed by first-year defensive coordinator Vic Fangio or it could be the overvaluation of players such as former first-round picks Nolan Smith and Jordan Davis, though Davis isn’t seen as a pass rusher, but more of a run stuffer. Perhaps it’s both the coach still learning a young defense and the players underperforming.
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