Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll opened Giants training camp with a practiced routine about how much they love working together, in an effort to reframe their frayed relationship as collaborative once again in Year Four.
“It sucks when you’re going through it, but the tough times help,” Daboll said. “We’ve certainly had a few tough times, but that’s when you grow closer, too.”
Schoen added: “Those hard, honest conversations and the amount of respect that we have for one another helps this thing work.”
But optics can’t help the Giants in 2025. Only wins can. That’s why Dexter Lawrence was most honest about the Giants’ reality entering the team’s first practice of the summer.
“They want to talk about our D-line and all this, but we haven’t done anything yet,” the star D-tackle said, repeating his challenge to the entire defense. “We have to come out here every day and improve and get better and challenge each other.”
That’s well said by the Giants’ best player. Urgency is critical. The 2025 season must be about results, about meaningful steps forward that can be measured – not claimed without evidence.
And it was the defense that took more steps forward during Wednesday’s first practice in East Rutherford, N.J., after head coach Brian Daboll confirmed quarterback Russell Wilson as the unchallenged “starter” for Week 1.
“We kind of started off slow,” top receiver Malik Nabers said. “But with Russ’s leadership, we picked things up at the end.”
Defensive back Nic Jones intercepted rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s first 11-on-11 pass for a pick-six. Deonte Banks knocked Wilson’s first intended pass for Malik Nabers incomplete.
Paulson Adebo swatted away a throw to Darius Slayton. And it took Nabers about three quarters of the practice to catch a pass, with Wilson sailing some targets out of bounds.
Eventually, though, the Giants’ top offensive weapon found the end zone. Tight end Theo Johnson also seemed to be a popular target. He actually caught Dart’s first 11-on-11 touchdown in the left flat.
“I think we can be very, very explosive. We’ve got a lot of talent on our side of the football,” Nabers said of the offense. “We just have to load the mental errors down, make sure we’re all confident in what we’re doing, and I’ll say the sky is the limit for us.”
Health again seems to be one of the factors that could threaten to hold the Giants’ offense back.
Before practice, Schoen hedged his optimism on whether left tackle Andrew Thomas (physically unable to perform list) will be ready for the Giants’ Week 1 season opener.
“Yeah, he should be ready for the opener,” Schoen said. “Things change. You can never be 100 percent, but we’re going to take it day by day with him. When he is ready, he’ll be out there. But we anticipate him to be ready for the opener.”
And after practice, Nabers admitted that the toe injury that sidelined him all spring might require surgery at some point in his career – although he was a full participant on Wednesday.
“There’s been talk about it,” Nabers said of a possible surgery. “It just never really came to a complete thought in mind for me to do it. But I’ve been managing it well, been running around, feeling pretty good. Everything has been going good with the rehab, so my toe is feeling better.”
At the very least, Nabers alluded to Daboll, the training staff and seemingly the front office being involved in a plan to manage the toe and his reps during camp.
“I’m sure it will be something that I’ve got to take up with [Daboll] and the guys upstairs and training staff,” he said. “But I think we’ve got a great plan going on day by day. That’s probably it.”
Whatever it takes to get Thomas, Nabers, the offense and the team to Week 1 in the best position to succeed is what Schoen and Daboll must do.
That Sept. 7 opener at Washington will be here in snap. And the Giants, coming off a 3-14 season, can’t afford any steps back.
“I didn’t hold back meeting with the defense, letting them know if we want to get where we want to go, and that’s the Super Bowl, that’s the ultimate goal, we got to prepare for that every day,” Lawrence said. “We got to train like that every day. We got to recover like that every day.
“Challenge yourself like, ‘What can I work on today? What can I improve today?” he added. “That’s the challenge, and that’s where you see greatness and that’s when you get in the flow state.”
LAWRENCE FOCUSED ON WINS, NOT MONEY
Lawrence is considered one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, but that position’s market has exploded. So Lawrence’s $22.5 million average annual salary – which tied him for third among D-tackles when he re-signed in 2023 — now only has him tied as the 10th highest-paid player at the position.
Still, Lawrence, 27, reported to camp on time, participated fully in Wednesday’s practice and said “no,” he hasn’t even spoken with the Giants about his money. That’s not his focus.
“I do what I do,” Lawrence said. “It is going to take care of itself. I mean right now, I just want to win. I know if I do that and I keep being who I know I am, it is all going to take care of itself. And that’s all I can do… I’m just going to handle my business.”
Originally Published:
