EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants have fired offensive line coach Marc Colombo.
Coach Joe Judge announced the stunning move on Wednesday without an explanation. Veteran line coach Dave DeGuglielmo will finish the season running the line.
The Giants (3-7) are heading into a bye week with the new offensive line starting to play well. New York has won two straight games to get back in the race for the NFC East title.
“We appreciate what Marc has done, but I felt like this move is in the best interest of the team,” Judge said in a statement.
Judge and DeGuglielmo worked together on Bill Belichick’s coaching staff in New England in 2014-15. DeGuglielmo interviewed to be the offensive line coach after Judge was hired.
Judge has already spoken with the media on Wednesday and he was not available for questions about the firing. He is not scheduled to talk to the media again until Monday.
Colombo was not immediately available for comment.
A person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press that Judge wanted to hire DeGuglielmo as a consultant to work with the offensive line and other parts of the team.
Judge told Colombo about the plans this week and the former Dallas Cowboys lineman voiced his displeasure, the person said. It ended with the firing on Wednesday.
The relatively new line has started to mesh after a slow start. Coming into the season the only carryovers on the starting unit were left guard Will Hernandez and right guard Kevin Zeitler.
Nick Gates was converted to a center and the tackle spots were manned by rookie Andrew Thomas, the fourth pick overall in the draft, and free agent signee Cam Fleming, who was with Dallas last season with Colombo as his line coach.
When the Giants hired former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett to be the offensive coordinator, Colombo followed him here.
BROWNS: Star defensive end Myles Garrett stayed home feeling sick and the Browns placed three more players, including starting right tackle Jack Conklin and kicker Cody Parkey, on the COVID-19 list as the team prepares for this week’s home game against Philadelphia.
The team also placed dependable long snapper Charley Hughlett on the growing list. Andy Janovich and offensive lineman Chris Hubbard are already on the list after testing positive.
Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski couldn’t elaborate on whether Conklin, Parkey or Hughlett tested positive for coronavirus, but it’s believed they’ve been identified as high risk due to close contact with a non-staff member who tested positive. If they continue to test negative, they’ll be able to play Sunday against the Eagles.
The Browns are holding all their meetings virtually as they continue to practice league-mandated intensive protocols.
Stefanski said Garrett has not tested positive. But because he’s not feeling well, the team is keeping him away from the facility as an added safety measure. The team did something similar with receiver Odell Beckham Jr. several weeks ago. Garrett has 9 1/2 sacks and been a force all season for the Browns (6-3), who have already matched their win total from last season.
The NFL created the COVID list for players who either tested positive or have had close contact with an infected person or persons.
The Browns have had to shut down their headquarters twice since Friday in order to do contact tracing after being informed of positive tests. They also put quarterback Baker Mayfield on the COVID list for a few days after he had contact with a staffer who tested positive.
RAIDERS: The Las Vegas Raiders placed seven more players on the COVID-19 list as “high risk” close contacts with teammate Clelin Ferrell after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ferrell, a starting defensive end, was placed on the list Tuesday following his positive test, along with defensive back Lamarcus Joyner. Safety Johnathan Abram, defensive tackle Maliek Collins, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, defensive lineman David Irving, cornerback Isaiah Johnson, defensive end Arden Key and defensive tackle Kendal Vickers were added to the list on Wednesday after contact tracing.
PANTHERS: Carolina said Wednesday that running back Christian McCaffrey is not expected to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions, a big blow for a Carolina team that is trying to snap a five-game losing streak.
It will be the second straight game McCaffrey has missed because of a shoulder injury and the eighth game he’s missed overall this season. The 2019 All-Pro injured his shoulder in Carolina’s Week 9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs after being tackled late in the fourth quarter.
THE NFL is placing all teams in intensive protocol starting Saturday to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 as the number of cases rises around the country.
Use of masks will be mandatory at all times at team facilities, including during practice and in weight rooms. Meetings must be held either virtually or in the largest indoor space with approval by the league. Meals have to be made available for grab-and-go to avoid players and staff congregating in cafeterias. Time spent in the locker room also has to be limited.
Clubs operating under the intensive protocols have reduced close contacts by more than 50% since the fifth week of the regular season, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press that was sent from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to teams on Wednesday.
So far, 28 teams have entered intensive protocol at some point and 16 teams have done it more than once.
“The upcoming holidays, beginning with Thanksgiving next week, will introduce new risks of exposure that we need to address now,” Goodell wrote. “Because we have a highly sophisticated program of daily testing, we know when the virus enters our facilities, which underscores the importance of contact tracing and other steps to minimize close contacts within a facility.
“Recent experience has highlighted the importance of minimizing high-risk close contacts; on multiple occasions, we have seen individuals identified on that basis test positive within a short time. We have also seen many instances in which effective action by clubs to minimize these close contacts prevented the virus from spreading within the club, and avoided players or coaches being ruled out of practice or games.”
The NFL said Tuesday there were 17 new confirmed positives among players and 35 among other personnel during testing from Nov. 8-14. That brought the league’s total to 95 players and 175 other personnel since Aug. 1, not counting new cases this week.
FORMER MIAMI Dolphins Pro Bowl safety Reshad Jones was arrested early Wednesday on a charge of carrying a concealed firearm.
According to a police report, Jones was walking in a gas station parking lot at 4:15 a.m. with a loaded handgun protruding from his pants pocket, and said he had never had a concealed weapons permit. Jones was difficult with officers and appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance, the report said.
Jones, 32, played for the Dolphins from 2010-19 and twice made the Pro Bowl. He was released March 18 and has been out of the NFL since.
FREE BURGERS FOR A 50 BURGER: If any pro football team scores 50 or more points in one game, McDonald’s is offering free cheeseburgers for a year for 50 fans.
All customers have to do is be the first 50 people to tweet the final score at the fast food chain to win the prize once game clock hits 00:00. The challenge started Nov. 12 and lasts through the Nov. 23 but so far no teams have scored enough points.
CARDINALS: Defensive tackle Corey Peters is out for the rest of the season because of a knee injury.
The 32-year-old Peters was hurt just before halftime of Arizona’s 32-30 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. He had to be carted off the field and Coach Kliff Kingsbury acknowledged after the game that the injury looked serious.
49ERS: The San Francisco 49ers claimed defensive lineman Takk McKinley off waivers from the Cincinnati Bengals.
The team also placed defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw on the COVID-19 list. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead went on the list earlier this week after a positive test and the team was conducting contact tracing to determine if anyone else needed to go on it as well.
The Niners tried to claim McKinley last week after he was waived by Atlanta but the Bengals beat them out. McKinley failed his physical in Cincinnati and San Francisco ended up with him anyway. He can join the team once he completes COVID-19 protocols and passes a physical.
McKinley was a first-round pick by the Falcons in 2016. He had 17 1/2 sacks, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 49 career games. He had one sack in four games this season.
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