EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Redemption is not a word Jake Fromm chooses to use regarding his start at quarterback in the Giants' season finale Sunday against the Washington Football Team.
Two weeks ago, Fromm made his NFL starting debut when the Giants visited the Philadelphia Eagles. But he threw for only 25 yards while completing six of 17 passes and was replaced by Mike Glennon in the third quarter of the Giants' 34-10 defeat. The Giants scored only three points when Fromm ran the offense.
Glennon played the entire game three days ago in Chicago but suffered a wrist injury that requires surgery and will not be in uniform vs. Washington. Fromm gets another chance to lead the Giants to victory and to demonstrate that he is a better quarterback than his first start would suggest.
So, he was asked today if this is a chance to enjoy some personal redemption?
"For me, any opportunity to play in the NFL is a great opportunity," was Fromm's response. "Obviously, I'm looking forward to having a good week of practice and going out and playing to the best of my abilities and how I think I can."
What did he learn from his unpleasant afternoon in Lincoln Financial Field?
"For me, it's how important putting together a good week of practice is, coming out to the game and executing early, getting a rhythm and scoring a few points," Fromm said. "That's going to be the focus for me this week, have a good week of practice and getting off to a fast start.
"You can't change the past, so you just learn from it. You move on and try to do better next time."
The Giants have searched for more productive play at quarterback and by extension their entire offense since Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending neck injury vs. Philadelphia on Nov. 28. Indeed, they are 0-5 since Jones took his last snap.
In those five games, the Giants scored more than 10 points just once and totaled four touchdowns, three of them after facing deficits of at least 30 points. Glennon and Fromm combined to complete 116 of 174 passes (66.7%) for 701 yards, three touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Giants' starter did not reach the 100-yard mark in each of the last three games and established a franchise low with minus-10 net passing yards in their loss to the Bears.
But Fromm insists he will not carry any of that recent negative history with him when he steps onto the MetLife Stadium turf.
"The only pressure I feel is going to be pressure I put on myself to go out and perform," he said. "Obviously, I want to go out and play the best I can for me, but for my family, my teammates in the locker room and for this organization. I'm going to go out and I'm going to give it all I can. Trust me, I want to win more than anybody does."
With one more opportunity to win after five tough weeks, he has much company among his teammates.
*The four players who missed the Chicago game because they were on the Reserve/COVID-19 list were activated today. Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence did not practice, while wide receiver Darius Slayton, tackle Korey Cunningham and nose tackle Danny Shelton were limited.
"All the players are back in, ramping up and getting ready to go ahead and return," coach Joe Judge said. "We'll see where they are physically as far as their return. They were in the building yesterday with the trainers as far as moving along that path. They'll continue with the ramp-up today and then get them back on the field as soon as we can."
Linebacker Omari Cobb and defensive back Ka'dar Hollman were restored to the practice squad from the COVID-19 list, though Hollman remains on injured reserve.
Practice squad defensive lineman Woodrow Hamilton was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. He started and assisted on two tackles in his Giants debut in Chicago.
*The Giants placed rookie linebacker Elerson Smith on injured reserve with a neck injury. Smith played in the last eight games after spending the first eight weeks of the season on I.R. with a hamstring injury he suffered early in training camp. He made four tackles and two quarterback hits on defense and three stops and one fumble recovery on special teams.
*The New York/New Jersey metropolitan was hit overnight with freezing rain, a storm that left a coating of ice on many roadways. That resulted in hazardous travel conditions and forced several Giants to arrive late to the facility today.
"Man, I was on Route 3 for four hours this morning," defensive back Julian Love said. "It was very unfortunate. Thankfully, I made it in safe, kind of made some plays on the road – I would advise against. But thankfully I'm here and I hope everybody is safe and just kind of praying for everybody."
An understanding Judge preached caution and dispensed with the customary fines for tardiness.
"We have a number of guys that are stuck right now in traffic that have been there for about three hours or so," Judge said at his news conference, which began at about 10:30 a.m. "Really, all the guys coming from the city, Hoboken, Weehawken type of areas (east of the Giants' headquarters). We have a number of guys that have been sending us pictures off their phones for about the last three hours or so that they've been stuck. We've had a coach in the same situation, so we're moving on through the day as much as we can, and we expect them to be here for the afternoon to catch them up with whatever they missed.
"With the circumstances these guys are dealing with, the tractor trailer that's crossing off both directions of traffic, from what we understand and from the pictures we're seeing – we've had players that were talking about getting out of their cars and walking. We told them to stay in the vehicle, stay with it, it'll clear on out. We've had coaches that were stuck, as well. The roads were definitely slick today. Definitely with the time we got the messages from the players that they were stuck in traffic would have been well ahead of the attendance time, so this wasn't a deal where we had squad at 7:30 and people were texting at 7:25. This was 6:45 in the morning, everyone saying, 'Look, I've been stuck for about a half hour or so. What do you want me to do?' We just told them, 'Drive safe, stay patient. When they get you out, we'll get you over here.' Some of the guys have tried to stay in through meetings through their speaker phone and things of that nature. We'll get them caught up when they get here."
*The Giants held walk-throughs today, so practice participation on their injury report was a projection.
In addition to Lawrence and Glennon, the following players did not participate: wide receivers John Ross (knee) and Collin Johnson (hamstring), fullback Cullen Gillaspia (knee), defensive lineman Austin Johnson (foot) and linebacker Elerson Smith (neck).
Slayton, one of the three COVID-19 ramp-up players who were listed as limited, also has a shoulder injury. The other players who were limited were running back Saquon Barkley (ankle), wide receiver Kadarius Toney (shoulder), tight end Kyle Rudolph (ankle), tackle Andrew Thomas (shoulder) and guard Will Hernandez (ankle),
*Since 2001, the Giants' chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America has annually presented the George Young Good Guy Award to a player for his consistent and outstanding cooperation with the writers who cover the team daily.
Young, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020, was the Giants' general manager from 1979-97. This year, the writers added the name of his successor, Ernie Accorsi, to the award, which was given to defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
The writers' announcement said Williams received the 21st annual award for "for his professionalism and availability during the 2021 season," and Accorsi for, "for a career overflowing with such contributions."
The award is now known as the George Young-Ernie Accorsi Good Guy Award.
Williams was recognized for his honest, insightful and candid answers to the many questions he faced during a challenging season. Whether discussing fan reactions, his own health issues, or any of the other matters that made 2021 a turbulent year for the Giants, Williams was readily available to provide the perspective of a respected NFL veteran.
"I found out about it today, but I was just surprised that out of everybody that I won the award, because sometimes when I'm being brought in, I give (director of football communications) Dion (Dargin) and some of the staff a hard time about talking to the media," Williams said.
In some of the closest and most diverse voting in years, Williams received seven of a possible 16 first-place votes. Safety Julian Love finished second in this year's voting with four first-place votes. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay finished third with two first-place votes. Fullback Eli Penny received two first-place votes and cornerback James Bradberry received one. In all, 10 different players appeared on at least one of the 16 ballots.
Accorsi's name has been permanently added to the award in recognition of a long career as one of the most accessible, gregarious, quotable and admired people to ever work in an NFL front office. He was general manager of the Giants from 1998-2006 and since his retirement has remained a valuable resource to many who chronicle the team. His impact on the franchise is undeniable and immeasurable and it will now be remembered annually with great gratitude by the members of this chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America.
"It means a lot to me that this comes from the media, to know you were fair and honest with them," Accorsi said. "I really enjoyed my interaction with the New York media. It was a great experience, the give and take. George was a master at that. Anything that has to do with George means a lot to me. I really appreciate this, especially because of the connection to George."
Winners of the George Young-Ernie Accorsi Good Guy Award
2021 – DL Leonard Williams
2020 – S Logan Ryan
2019 – TE Evan Engram
2018 – WR Sterling Shepard
2017 – S Landon Collins
2016 – WR Victor Cruz
2015 – CB Prince Amukamara
2014 – RB Rashad Jennings
2013 – CB Terrell Thomas
2012 – S Antrel Rolle
2011 – WR Victor Cruz
2010 – DT Barry Cofield
2009 – DE Mathias Kiwanuka
2008 – QB Eli Manning
2007 – DE Justin Tuck
2006 – WR Plaxico Burress
2005 – RB Tiki Barber
2004 – QB Kurt Warner
2003 – WR Ike Hilliard
2002 – QB Kerry Collins
2001 – OL Lomas Brown
View photos from the all-time series between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders.
Giants App
Download the Giants' official app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices