EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants center Jon Feliciano didn’t necessarily mind having his reps managed by the coaching staff at practice on Sunday.
“I’m a little older now so it’s not that bad,” he joked after Sunday’s practice. “I come from a place where good ole Rodney Hudson, before I was in Buffalo when I was in Oakland, a guy that never practiced. You should see him now in Arizona. I’m just playing.”
The reason the Giants are being so cautious with Felciano these days is the center missed four practices following a scary situation where he became extremely dehydrated early in camp. He returned to practice on Wednesday and has been eased back into the mix.
“Right after the practice, got in the cold tubs,” Feliciano explained. “Went through and got an I.V. And then, I’m kind of a hard stick sometimes. And then, missed me a few times. And then after that, I started profusely sweating. And then, I just started full body cramping. Good times.”
The incident was not the first time that he had experienced something like that. The center recalled going through a similar situation like that during his freshman year at Miami.
Feliciano did not require a visit to the hospital and had spent most of the time that he was getting treatment at the Giants facility in East Rutherford. While he knew getting eased back into practice was the right thing, he had been itching to get back onto the field.
Asked if he had been scared when it was happening, Feliciano said he was not.
“It’s just not a fun time. Imagine your muscles just – especially my legs mostly cramped up just like that for a while,” he said.
Feliciano is expected to play a big role on the Giants’ revamped offensive line this season. New York has invested plenty of resources into the crucial area, but they’ve suffered several losses already that have impacted the depth.
Rookie tackle Marcus McKethan tore his ACL during the team scrimmage at Metlife Stadium on Friday and offensive lineman Matt Gono reportedly is dealing with a career-ending neck injury. The injuries are sure to raise the already heightened focus on the offensive line than it already has been going into this season,
Gano has been with the team but not doing any physical activities, head coach Brian Daboll said.
“I think (General Manager) Joe (Schoen) and his staff – the scouting department – are going to look at every avenue to try to improve that situation,” Daboll responded when asked about the depth of the offensive line. “You obviously can’t, you don’t have a crystal ball when that stuff happens. And it’s too bad, by the way, about Marcus. I spoke to him yesterday. For a young player to have a non-contact injury, it was tough. But he’s in good spirits. So, he’ll have to start rehabbing. But we’ll try to do whatever we need to do. Whatever it needs to do, we’re going to try to do.”
New York’s offensive line has been the focus for many going into camp because of how much it struggled to protect Daniel Jones when he was on the field last season. The hope is that it will be able to protect the fourth-year QB as the team tries to assess what to do with Jones after this season.
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Things haven’t exactly worked out the way they have hoped so far, but Feliciano said he is up for the challenge of getting better.
“It’s my job, with (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones), to try to figure out (Defensive Coordinator) Wink’s (Martindale) defense and try to get us all going in the right way,” He said. “I embrace the challenge; it makes coming to work fun every day so it’s not just the monotony – I actually have to make sure I’m sharp mentally every day to deal with good ole Wink.”
