Veteran OL Justin Pugh hopes to return to Giants next season
Veteran offensive lineman Justin Pugh has enjoyed a long and successful NFL career.
The former first-round pick spent his first four seasons blocking for Eli Manning and the Giants before signing with the Cardinals on a five-year, $45 million deal during the 2018 offseason.
After battling injuries throughout his time in Arizona, Pugh hit the open market again last offseason, where he remained unsigned until his old friends in the Big Apple needed to fill a spot on their struggling offensive line.
Pugh joined the practice squad, and just a few weeks later, he was signed to the active roster and jumped into the starting lineup for a primetime Sunday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
Coming off an ACL injury, the Syracuse product struggled at first, but he quickly settled into a groove and appeared in 99 percent of the team’s offensive snaps over the final 12 games of the season.
When the team needed a boost the most, Pugh stepped in and provided a much-needed steady veteran presence for a makeshift group down the stretch.
Despite that, the 33-year-old is set to hit the open market again this offseason, and while his future with Big Blue is looking a bit uncertain right now, he knows this is where he wants to be next season.
“I love New York, I want to be back,” Pugh said on the Talkin’ Ball podcast with Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “But if they have no want to have me back, I obviously can’t just wait around like I’m at the prom with no date, you want someone to dance with.”
Pugh understands that GM Joe Schoen and the front office have “bigger fish to fry” this offseason, such as star free agents Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney, but he’s hoping to talk with the team sooner rather than later.
“Once those cap situations get figured out I’m sure we’ll have a conversation,” he said. “There’s a lot on their plate but I showed last year that I can still play at a high level and I think they know the value and leadership that I bring to the locker room.”
