WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - The second day of Giants training camp brought a little bit of everything at the Greenbrier: Abdul Carter bullying his way through a big moment, Malik Nabers back on the field again, Kayvon Thibodeaux making noise on defense, and a first crowd of fans getting a sunny West Virginia welcome.
The pace itself stood out, too. John Harbaugh isn’t spending much time on walk-throughs or install periods.
After early special teams work and individual drills, the Giants have gone straight into full-speed 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 work on the first two days. That has made camp feel faster and far more competitive than what the Giants have shown in recent summers.
Carter was one of the day’s clear headliners. He got the better of Andrew Thomas on Thursday and made sure everyone knew it.
Thibodeaux also kept stacking plays, picking off a Jameis Winston pass at the line of scrimmage and taking it to the house for a score. He has been working with the second team, but Harbaugh said that label doesn’t really fit.
“He knows he’s going to play a bunch,” Harbaugh said. “We have three starters outside the linebacker.
Those are all starting football players. Slice it how you want.”
Nabers’ presence was another positive for the Giants. The wideout was back on the field for a second straight day during individual drills, and every practice he gets through is a win for both him and the team. Asked whether he can be as good or better after his knee injury than he was in 2024, Nabers didn’t leave much room for doubt.
“I got extreme confidence in myself,” Nabers said. “I’m not going to put myself in any spot that I feel like I’m not going to be better than what I was before.
So, I don’t see myself being what I was before. What I was before, what you all saw my rookie year, I felt like that was basic.
I got high standards for myself. I know everybody has high standards for me also.
But the standard that I hold myself to is very high. I feel like whatever that standard that I hold myself to, you’ll see or sooner or later.”
There were other standouts, too. Braxton Berrios followed up a productive Wednesday with another solid day, strengthening his case in the fight for one of the final roster spots.
Leki Fotu was active in the backfield, finishing with a tackle for loss and causing problems on several other snaps. And undrafted kicker Dominic Zvada helped himself in the competition with Ben Sauls by drilling a 57-yard field goal on the final play of practice after Brandon Allen had the ball clocked with :01 left.
Not everyone had a clean day. The Giants cut Ben Barten and replaced him on the roster with linebacker Anfernee Orji.
Theo Johnson, who has dealt with drops early in his career, had another one on Thursday after also dropping a pass the day before. Dante Miller, nicknamed “Turbo,” also had a rough moment when he fumbled after catching a short pass from Winston, leading to a scoop-and-score for Micah McFadden.
The day also brought a little extra energy from the crowd. It was the first practice open to fans, and they got a comfortable, picture-perfect afternoon in West Virginia to go with it.
One of the more memorable small moments came when rookie Sisi Mauigoa was sent on a lap while waving at the fans to pump them up. Andrew Thomas later explained it as part of the rookie treatment.
“That was rookie duties,” Thomas said. “We made him go run around and fight the crowd. He did a good job.
“Probably made him some money, too. Probably about 10,000 Twitter followers.”
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