Giants tight end Matt LaCosse wants to put past two injury plagued seasons behind him
Matt LaCosse is on a mission. The New York Giants tight end is trying make sure the team doesn’t forget about him, especially when they drafted Evan Engram in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
He wasn’t hard to forget last Friday. The 6-foot-6, 261 pound Illinois product caught pass after pass, including two leaping touchdown passes from rookie quarterback Davis Webb deep in the end zone.
LaCosse certainly caught the eye of head coach Ben McAdoo.
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“He made some nice plays,” McAdoo said. “He is a big target down there in the green zone. Matchup wise, he gives you that length that you are looking for, he can run and he is functional blocker, so he has a nice skillset.”
LaCosse certainly has the skills necessary for an NFL tight end. Now he hopes his body won’t betray him.
He signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Two days into training camp he pulled a hamstring and was subsequently released. LaCosse then signed with the New York Jets but was released before the start of the regular season. He returned to the Giants late in the regular season.
LaCosse played in two regular season games in 2015, catching three passes for 22 yards.
In 2016, he tore his meniscus in the preseason. Surgery to repair to the ligament ended his season before it really began. LaCosse was placed on injured reserve but made his presence felt throughout the season.
“Last year was definitely hard,” he said. “But I am fortunate they let me stay around and go to meetings and be with my teammates, which was nice. But I would be lying if I said it wasn’t tough coming in and watching film and being like, ‘Dang, I wish I was out there playing with my teammates.’ It was difficult.”
Now entering his third season, LaCosse knows what he must do to be on the roster when the regular season opens in Dallas on Sept. 10.
“As much as I love practice, love OTAs, and love training camp, it is time to play in some games,” he said. “I have to play well in OTAs. I know I am not guaranteed a roster spot and I have to play well in OTAs, have to play well in camp, have to play well in the preseason games and hopefully there is a spot for me.
“I just have to keep playing hard and whatever happens, happens.”
The Giants still have Will Tye and Jerell Adams, a 2016 draft pick, on the roster. They signed Rhett Ellison, who would be used primarily as a blocker, in free agency and they drafted Engram. LaCosse must excel between now and the end of August in order to make the 53-man roster.
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