The New York Giants were plagued by injuries along their offensive line in 2023 and are not off to a bright start in 2024 either.
On Thursday, ahead of the team’s final practice of the week, head coach Brian Daboll announced that the team’s backup center, offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann, had been placed on injured reserve with a leg injury suffered Wednesday.
Daboll did not disclose the exact nature of Schlottmann’s injury but suggested it could be long-term and will likely keep the veteran out for four weeks or more.
With space available on the 53-man roster, the Giants promoted fullback/tight end Jacob Johnson.
Johnson was signed late in training camp and then joined the practice squad after being waived as part of final cuts, and he was expected to be promoted each week until a spot on the main roster opened up.
It happened sooner than the Giants would have liked.
Taking Johnson’s place on the practice squad will be 27-year-old cornerback Duke Shelley.
Shelley, who was selected in the sixth round by the Chicago Bears in the 2019 NFL Draft, has been something of a journeyman, with other stints with the Minnesota Vikings (twice), Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams.
In 52 games (11 starts), Shelley recorded 92 tackles (69 solo tackles), one fumble recovery, 14 passes defensed and one interception.
In 2022, Shelley received a career-high 81.5 grade from Pro Football Focus.
