The New York Giants were busy on Friday, pulling off a trade that sent linebacker Olivier Vernon and a fourth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for guard Kevin Zeitler and a fifth-round pick, but that wasn’t all.
The Giants also officially announced that center Jon Halapio had been re-signed just days after receiving an exclusive rights free agent tender.
“This is home to me,” Halapio said after signing his new deal, adding that he’s completely healthy. “I’m fully cleared. Been cleared for about a month now.”
Halapio began the 2018 season as the team’s starting center, but ended up playing in just two games after breaking his ankle in the Giants’ Week 2 loss to the Cowboys in Dallas. His rehab is reportedly going well and the Giants are expecting him to compete for the center position again at training camp.
“Don’t forget Pio, don’t forget Jon,” general manager Dave Gettleman said in January. “He went down, unfortunately, in the second game. He was playing the best of anybody. So, don’t forget about Pio. I am always going to keep working on those lines, on those groups. You cannot have enough hog mollies, you can’t, because people get hurt. You can’t have enough.”
With Halapio back under contract, much of the Giants’ 2019 offensive line is now in place. The last piece they need is a right tackle.
