The New York Giants continue to make moves on the first day of the legal tampering free agency period. They will reportedly add Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor on a two-year deal.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to share the news.
Raiders free-agent guard Jermaine Eluemunor is expected to sign a two-year, $14 million deal with the Giants. Deal was negotiated and confirmed by David Mulugheta.
Eluemunor, 29, was a fifth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens back in 2017 out of Texas A&M and moved onto New England after three seasons. He also spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins before landing in Las Vegas in 2021.
Eluemunor (6’4″, 330 pounds) has played in 87 NFL games, starting 45, and allowed 21 pressures on 474 pass-block attempts (4.4%) in 12 starts at right tackle last season.
It’s unclear if the Giants intend to use Eluemunor at guard or tackle, where he would presumably compete with Evan Neal.
Former New York Giants defensive captain and current Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Antonio Pierce, reportedly ‘pursued’ Giants special assistant Jesse Armstead for a similar position with the Raiders.
Armstead is apparently choosing to stay put with Big Blue.
Antonio Pierce and #Raiders pursued #Giants special assistant to the GM Jessie Armstead for a similar role, but he is staying put, per sources. LVR thought he was coming to point where he had a presence at team facility, but Armstead will instead remain under contract in NY.…
Pierce served as the Raiders’ interim head coach after Josh McDaniels was fired midseason last year. He went 5-4 as the coach and was hired to the job full-time last month.
Armstead, like Pierce, was a former star linebacker for the Giants and has served as a Giants’ special assistant and consultant to the general manager since 2008.
As a player, Armstead was a five-time Pro Bowler and is a member of the Giants’ Ring of Honor.
Pierce’s hire comes after he took over for Josh McDaniels and led the Raiders to a 5-4 finish (8-9 overall) with three of the four losses coming by a combined 13 points.
In Week 9, Pierce coached the Raiders to a 30-6 victory over the New York Giants, his former team. It was his first-ever NFL game as the lead dog.
The 45-year-old Pierce was originally signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free-agent rookie out of Arizona in 2001. After four seasons in D.C., Pierce signed with the Giants in 2005 and remained with Big Blue until his retirement in 2010.
During his time with the Giants, Pierce was named a team captain and carved out a nice place in franchise history. He was a catalyst in the team’s Super Bowl run in 2007, which was capped off by the largest upset in NFL history — a 17-14 victory over Tom Brady and the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
Unsurprisingly, Pierce has a good relationship with former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, whom he had address the Raiders this past season.
After learning of Pierce’s hire, Coughlin released a congratulatory statement.
“I could not be prouder of Antonio Pierce being named head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” Coughlin said, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “I’m excited for him, his family, and the franchise. This is the team he grew up watching, and his belief in himself and in the players is why he is there. He is a great student of the game, a quick learner with a great attitude, and he is eager to get to work. The 2024 season just got a lot more interesting with him at the helm. Go get ’em AP!”
Coughlin has consulted with Pierce on filling out his Raiders’ staff and remains open to helping AP down the line if the first-time head coach needs it.
Happy holidays! Week 16 of the NFL season wraps up with three games on Christmas Day:
Raiders vs. Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET
Giants vs. Eagles, 4:30 ET
Ravens vs. 49ers, 8:15 p.m. ET
Let’s take a look at three of my favorite projections to target on PrizePicks.
Rashee Rice (Chiefs) more than 67.5 receiving yards
Rice has seen his role grow tremendously as the season has progressed. Over the past four weeks, he has earned an incredible 38 targets while leading the team with a 27.5% target share.
The rookie wideout has been Patrick Mahomes’ first read on a whopping 32.7% of his drop-backs in that timeframe. If Rice had posted that same first-read rate over the full season, he would rank 11th in the league, just behind the Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown and ahead of the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb.
His breakout began against this same Raiders defense in Week 12 when he posted eight receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Rice has averaged 83.5 receiving yards in the four games since. He has eclipsed the 67.5 receiving yards projection in three of those four games, and the one time he came up short he was just 3.5 yards shy of the projection.
Assuming his recent volume holds up, Rice should be able to beat this projection of 67.5 receiving yards.
Darren Waller (Giants) more than 3.5 receptions
The Giants tight end missed five games because of a hamstring injury earlier this season. Waller returned in Week 15 against the Saints and hauled in four receptions for 40 yards.
He posted that production despite playing just 42% of the snaps. The Giants have clearly been cautious in bringing him back, as Waller played on at least 80% of snaps in six of seven games to begin the season. He should be in for increased playing time as he continues to move further away from the injury.
Waller has topped 3.5 receptions in five of eight healthy games this season despite spotty quarterback play from Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor earlier in the year. Tommy DeVito has arguably played better than any other QB to suit up for the Giants this season.
Giants tight end Darren Waller AP
The Giants wide receivers room lacks talent and Waller should have no trouble earning targets from DeVito this week. The game script should feature heavy pass volume for the Giants, as they project to be playing from behind.
Waller should see his playing time tick up in this game and he could be featured as the top option in the passing game, allowing him to easily rack up more than 3.5 receptions.
Christian McCaffrey (49ers) more than 120.5 rushing + receiving yards
McCaffrey leads the NFL with 1,801 scrimmage yards this season. Going into the week, he had racked up nearly 250 more scrimmage yards than his closest competitor, Tyreek Hill.
McCaffrey has averaged more than 128 rushing + receiving yards per game this season, and he has recorded more than 120.5 yards in eight of 14 games. In the two of those games he fell short of this projection he missed by fewer than 3 yards.
The All-Pro running back has at least 121 scrimmage yards in five of his last six games, including in each of the last four games.
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey Getty Images
Baltimore should be able to push back against the Niners and keep this game relatively close into the fourth quarter, which would help secure a huge workload for McCaffrey.
The Ravens defense is a difficult matchup as they rank top 10 in yards allowed on the ground and through the air, but the Niners will surely find a way to get McCaffrey in open space where he can win in any matchup.
Expect McCaffrey to rack up more than 120.5 rushing + receiving yards in what should be a competitive game to close out Week 16.
The Las Vegas Raiders started out hot after Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach, dispatching his former team, the New York Giants, in Week 9 followed by the New York Jets in Week 10.
The Raiders have gone 0-2 since then, falling to the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs in back-to-back weeks.
But Las Vegas was competitive in each game, losing to Miami by a touchdown and nipping at Kansas City’s heels until late in the fourth quarter.
What the future holds for Pierce is unknown but his former teammate, Giants legend Eli Manning, is impressed with the job he’s done thus far and believes he has the chops to succeed as an NFL head coach.
“He was definitely a great leader; he was a captain of our team,” Manning told Giants Wire. “He was kind of the coach on the field on the defensive side — changing blitzes, audibling, and knowing what was going on.
“I knew he had a high football IQ (by) just talking to him over the years. I’m excited for him and this opportunity. He’s obviously been around coaching and been doing it at all levels, and he’s taken advantage of this situation and he’s doing a great job.”
Together as captains, Pierce and Manning led the Giants to a Super Bowl XLII victory over the New England Patriots, arguably the greatest upset of all time. But they’ve gone in different directions since retirement, with Pierce staying committed to the game of football while Manning carves out his place in the media world.
It would be interesting if Pierce joined the ManningCast at some point this year so we could just listen to the two of them talk X’s and O’s.
LAS VEGAS — Zach Wilson was on the verge of quieting his critics.
Then, he fueled them.
The Jets quarterback had the team in position to pull out a comeback win over the Raiders but an interception by Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane at the Las Vegas 15-yard line with 1:22 left sealed a 16-12 Jets loss.
The Jets failed to score a touchdown for the second straight game and their touchdown drought is now 11 quarters.
Zach Wilson reacts during the Jets’ loss to the Raiders on Nov. 12, 2023. Getty ImagesZach Wilson is tackled during the Jets’ loss to the Raiders on Nov. 12, 2023. APJosh Jacobs runs with the ball during the Raiders’ win over the Jets on Nov. 12, 2023. Getty ImagesGarrett Wilson makes a catch during the Jets’ loss to the Raiders on Nov. 12, 2023. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals in the game.
The New York Giants managed to find a new rock bottom on Sunday, falling to the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-6, in a game that also saw quarterback Daniel Jones suffer an apparent season-ending injury.
Despite mass turnover within the Raiders organization and an unproven rookie starting at quarterback, the Giants never stood a chance. They had the doors blown off them from the opening kickoff on.
With the loss, the Giants fall to 2-7 on the season and they must now begin to turn their attention to the 2024 NFL draft.
Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds (and studly duds) from the team’s latest loss.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
There were precious few bright spots for the Giants on Sunday but running back Saquon Barkley was one.
Even with the Raiders able to stack the box and load up to stop Barkley, he rushed for 90 yards (5.6 ypc) and added another 23 yards on three receptions.
Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
After several impressive weeks that briefly caused his critics to fall into silence, linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux vanished in Week 9.
Not only did Thibs generate absolutely no pressure, he hardly factored into the game at all. He recorded just one tackle and was otherwise invisible against an offensive line that should have allowed him to feast.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Second-year wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson continues to quietly put solid play on tape. He recorded four receptions on five targets for 35 yards and scored the Giants only touchdown on Sunday but that wasn’t all.
Robinson has impressive field awareness and does a lot right — a lot that goes overlooked. He’s a solid blocker despite his size and against the Raiders, recovered a Jalin Hyatt fumble.
Ian Maule/Getty Images
After starting last season 6-1, head coach Brian Daboll has compiled a 6-14-1 record including the playoffs. He’s gone from Bono to Bozo in a hurry.
This week, Daboll elected to carry two kickers on the gameday roster (one on the 53-man and one elevated from the practice squad) instead of a third quarterback. That not only hurt the Giants after Jones’ injury, but it proved to be completely pointless.
The Giants attempted neither a field goal nor a PAT on Sunday.
The Giants were a disaster at punt returner before Gunner Olszewski’s arrival. He hasn’t broken one for a touchdown but he’s more than capable and turned a team weakness into a strength. He fields the ball well and averaged 11.0 yards per return against the Raiders. It could have been more but he was tackled by his own teammate on one of his three returns.
Norm Hall/Getty Images
Right tackle Evan Neal returned from a left ankle sprain on Sunday only to exit the game with a right ankle sprain. He’s likely out for several more weeks.
If the injury isn’t frustrating enough, his play should be. He was clearly rusty but beyond that, he was completely dominated by the Raiders average pass rush. At one point, he caught a punch to the chest and simply folded over like a wet piece of paper.
Ian Maule/Getty Images
Rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito was put into an unwinnable situation for the second time in as many weeks and it wasn’t pretty. At one point in the first half, he had tossed more interceptions (2) than he had completions (1) but he kept battling.
It’s not DeVito’s fault he’s been thrown to the wolves. And it’s not his fault he’s had to be “the guy” in consecutive games due to poor personnel management.
Despite all of that, he still completed 15 of his 20 passes for 175 yards to go along with his first career touchdown pass.
It could have been a lot worse for a guy who’s taken a grand total of zero first-team reps in practice.
Quarterback Daniel Jones has been cleared for duty after missing the last three games due to a neck injury. It couldn’t come at a better time as his backup, Tyrod Taylor, has been ruled out this week with a ribcage injury.
Tommy DeVito has been elevated to the primary backup role with recently signed Matt Barley parked on the practice squad serving as the emergency QB.
Without Jones, the Giants have averaged just 11 points per game. With Jones in the lineup, they’ve averaged only 10.3 points per game. They are hoping things turn around beginning this week.
The New York Giants (2-6) are currently 1.5-point underdogs for their Week 9 contest against the Las Vegas Raiders (3-5) at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada this coming Sunday afternoon.
The line is down two full points since the beginning of the week when it opened at -3.5.
The over/under, which opened at 38.5 total points per BetMGM, is down a full point to 37.5.
The money line is currently Giants +105, Raiders -125.
The Giants are coming off a 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday in which they were forced to use their emergency quarterback, rookie Tommy DeVito.
Quarterback Daniel Jones remains out due to a neck injury and his backup, Tyrod Taylor, suffered a serious rib cage injury in Week 8 and remains hospitalized as of Monday morning.
The Raiders (3-4) have not played their Week 8 game as of yet. They are scheduled to face the Detroit Lions on the road on Monday Night Football.
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