As the New York Giants set to square off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, fans of Big Blue have gotten a bit of positive news on the injury front. While the "encouraging" signs for wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle are the biggest revelations in the hours leading up to game time, what could prove to be even more important in the long-term is the return to practice of tackle Will Beatty. Beatty tore a pectoral muscle during preseason and has missed the last several months. He is now expected to join the rest of his teammates at practice during the week leading up to the Giants' second-straight NFC East clash, this time against the Dallas Cowboys, according to a Monday report from NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.
As Rapoport notes, it could take a bit of time for Beatty to return to game shape - he suffered the injury in mid-May - so he'll have missed almost exactly five months, which directly aligns with the original return date estimated after his injury and the subsequent surgery.
With Beatty on the shelf, the Giants were forced to shuffle their offensive line early and push recent first-round pick Ereck Flowers into the lineup much sooner than expected. Of course, considering the expedient manner with which New York quarterback Eli Manning gets rid of the ball, the Giants offensive line really only needs to be serviceable in order for Ben McAdoo's unit to keep the chains moving. Then again, with Flowers struggling like only a rookie tackle, asked to face the opposition's best pass-rusher game in and game out, can, Beatty's return could be a huge boost to the entire group.
With right tackle Marshall Newhouse performing surprisingly well and Justin Pugh moved to the inside full-time this season, swapping Flowers for Beatty could be the kind of solidifying move that allows an improving Giants team to take hold of what has become a wide open NFC East.
