New York Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor is entering his second and final year of his two-year contract that was signed in 2024.
After a tough start to his career, Eluemunor seems to have found his groove over the last few seasons. He started all 17 games for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022, then 14 out of 17 games in 2023. For the Giants last year, he appeared in 11 games.
As a veteran on the offensive line, Eluemunor is a leader, and often what he says is echoed by others along the line. So when he mentioned how competitive it’s been, he was asked what the root of that competition is.
“I think people are just sick and tired of not being good, and it all starts in the trenches. The O-line and D-line are where games are really won,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “We can talk about the receiver room or DBs, and quarterback is a really important position, but games are really decided in the trenches, and so it was intense, especially with the players that we have on O-line and D-line, but at the end of the day, everyone got better from it.”
They’re tired of not being good and sick of losing, which is a good thing because the desire to improve is the only way improvement ever happens. That frustration has been building, and Eluemunor says you can see the result in this year’s OTA attendance.
“I mean, going 3-14 is terrible,” he said. “That feeling that you get after you win the game and truly seeing everything you put in the week and all the work you’ve been putting in, paying off, there’s no feeling like it and it’s addictive and that’s what you want, week in and week out and that’s what we want to get and that’s what the team wants to become. So, I think that you saw the attendance. I don’t think anyone missed OTAs. Everyone was out there.”
Everyone was in attendance for OTAs and minicamp this year, and that definitely bodes well for the offensive line.
Eluemunor also credits Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston for the change in attitude along the line.
“Even guys that weren’t practicing, they’re still in the huddle or they’re still around the team or they’re still buying in in meetings, trying to make sure that they’re gaining all the knowledge they need to so when they come back out there, they know what to do and there’s no fall off,” he said. “So, I think that I’m not going to make any predictions, but I like this team a lot.”
If Giants’ fans weren’t already squirming with a little excitement at Wilson being under center this fall, they should feel it now. When the line not only supports the quarterback but also believes in him, the whole offensive dynamic changes.
The Giants aren’t going to look the same in 2025, and that’s positive.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Jermaine Eluemunor: New York Giants’ O-line ‘sick and tired of not being good’
Reporting by Serena Burks, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
