Joe Judge on how Giants will deal with Andrew Thomas' absence: 'You'll see all three tackles play'

The Giants' best offensive lineman this season, Andrew Thomas, won't be suiting up for at least the next three games. So how does Joe Judge and the rest of the coaching staff try to patch things up in the meantime? 

"You'll see all three tackles play this week," Judge told reporters before practice on Wednesday. 

It's what occurred last week for the G-Men when Thomas had to leave the game against the Los Angeles Rams: A tackle rotation between Nate Solder, Matt Peart, and Korey Cunningham occurred. And it seems Judge has no choice but to make it happen again. 

It's not ideal in the slightest. The Giants, struggling with their tackles in 2020 as well, had to run a rotation that saw some solid line play. But cohesion is key for a line and having tackles, or any linemen for that matter, bouncing around doesn't create great chemistry. 

What choice does Judge have, though? He saw what happened to Solder when he filled in at left tackle for the entire Dallas Cowboys game. Randy Gregory had his way with him and he ended up with eight total pressures allowed. In fact, Solder has allowed the eighth-most pressures of any linemen in the league this year, per Pro Football Focus. 

Peart was supposed to be the Giants' starting right tackle entering training camp, but Solder ended up the right tackle in Week 1 as the former's development continues. Cunningham is a veteran but a fringe roster player who had to be elevated from the practice squad again. 

That's why Thomas playing to the standard that was set for him to start the season was so key, especially after the Giants lost Joe Looney and Zach Fulton during training camp due to both players retiring.

"I think Andrew’s done a really good job obviously going through some stuff in the offseason, Judge said. "Coming back, played very well, has been improving as a player throughout his career for us. He’s a guy on the offensive line we have a lot of confidence in as a player. He prepares extremely well and does a good job coming ready to go every day. But we’re confident Matt, Nate, Cunningham getting out there and playing for us as well.”

There is also Isaiah Wilson, the former Tennessee Titans first-round pick whom the Giants signed to their practice squad. But Judge said he's still working with the strength and conditioning team and learning the playbook as he gets acclimated to his new team, so he won't be an option at least for this week.

With Kadarius Toney also expected to miss this week as well as no real updates on Saquon Barkley's and Kenny Golladay's status, the Giants' offense will need to simply work with what they got.

For Daniel Jones, that means putting as much trust as he can in his makeshift O-line to keep him upright as the Giants desperately try to salvage their season that already stands at 1-5.