Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman brought in a familiar face from his days with the Panthers this week as part of his attempt to build a better running game for the 2018 season.
Running back Jonathan Stewart signed with the Giants after being released by Gettleman’s former employers in a move that didn’t come as much of a surprise. Stewart has seen his average yards per carry drop from 4.1 to 3.4 over the last two years and he’ll turn 31 later this month to complete a combo that often foreshadows further slippage for a back.
On Wednesday, Stewart insisted that he won’t continue to follow that trajectory.
“I’ve got a lot left,” Stewart said, via the New York Post. “The only reason why I would be playing is if I knew I could play and I know I can play, Dave knows I can play — there is a lot that I feel I want to prove and writing my own story as far as how things shape up moving forward for me.”
The Giants addressed the offensive line on Wednesday by signing tackle Nate Solder and guard Patrick Omameh, which should help Stewart’s chances of making good on his assessment of his own abilities. It should also help any back the Giants bring in to round out their backfield group — Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins are also on hand — because it seems unlikely that they’ll put all their eggs in Stewart’s basket when it comes to bringing the ground game back to life.