Burns: Abdul will show you what he can do

Throughout the offseason workout program, we saw glimpses of Abdul Carter’s athleticism as he constantly got into the quarterback’s face. But with no contact allowed during the spring, it was difficult to tell which of Carter’s successful pass rush moves would have truly worked had the lineman been able to fully engage with him. With the pads coming on for today’s practice, we got to see Carter go to work on the offensive line. It’s safe to say his success during the spring was no fluke.

“He does what he got to do, he’s about his business,” Burns said about his rookie teammate. “All it comes down to is really just making sure that he’s clean with the calls and the adjustments because it is moving a little bit faster. It is a little more detailed than college, but as far as raw athleticism, traits, he got it. I really don’t got to talk too much on him. Y’all have seen it…

“He’s going to be put in positions to succeed, and that’s just due to the guys we have on the line, me, Dex, KT, he’s going to have one-on-ones, he’s going to have opportunities to show what he can do and he showed y’all. Like I said, I don’t really want to do too much talking about Abdul because he’ll show you. I ain’t got to talk about him.”

As Burns mentioned, part of the reason Carter should have plenty of opportunities to succeed as a rookie are the guys surrounding him in the pass rush. Burns, Lawrence and Thibodeaux are all proven pass rushers with track records of success. Thibodeaux in particular has made a strong impression on his fellow outside linebacker with his work ethic dating back to last season.

“KT flipped the switch last year,” said Burns. “I don’t know if y’all peeped it, but he flipped the switch last year, playing a lot harder, playing a lot more physical. He’s getting his edge. He had his edge today. KT has impressed me about how he handles himself in the building. He gets in early, he does his thing. All in all, he flipped that switch last year, so I expect big things from KT this year.”

Olszewski brought back; Ford-Wheaton placed on IR

The Giants brought back a familiar face on Monday as wide receiver/special teamer Gunner Olszewski was signed to the roster.

In a corresponding move, the Giants placed wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton on injured reserve after the young wideout suffered a torn Achilles during Sunday’s practice.

Olszewski played in 10 games for the Giants during the 2023 season before spending all of last year on injured reserve. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 17 of the 2023 campaign after he returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown, which was the second-longest punt return in Giants history.

As for Ford-Wheaton, it is the second serious injury in three seasons for the wide receiver, who tore his ACL during the 2023 preseason before his rookie year. After rehabbing and working his way back from that injury, Ford-Wheaton made the 53-man roster last year and played 286 special teams snaps, the most of any player on offense and third-most on the entire roster.

“My heart aches for that man,” Daboll said before practice. “He’s done everything he could do to get back. He’s a very good special teams player for us and was having a good camp from working back from his injury. He’s just laying there on the ground and you just can’t help but… That’s the tough part of this business – probably one of the worst (parts) is seeing these guys go down that have put so much time and effort and energy into getting back and we’ll certainly miss him.

“It’s just an unfortunate thing for Bryce, I feel terrible for him, I feel bad for our team because he was a good player for us in the kicking game and now other people are going to have to step up but, man, that was a tough one.”