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20 Questions in 20 Days

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20 Questions in 20 Days: Leaders in the locker room

20-QUESTIONS-CAPTAIN-PATCH

Giants.com is counting down the start of training camp with 20 questions in 20 days.

8) Who will be the leaders in the locker room?

Dan Salomone: First is the question of whether or not the Giants will have captain patches. Hopefully we can dive into that with John Harbaugh in the near future, but the Ravens long opted to choose their captains on a game-by-game basis. In fact, their 2024 postseason appearance was the first time they wore the "C" patches in team history.

While we wait to see what transpires over the next few weeks, here is a 2022 quote from Harbaugh on voting captains weekly, as opposed to the entire season:

"We feel like we've got leadership throughout the roster, especially with our veteran players, and we feel like we want to honor that and recognize that – that we're a team and that we have a team of leaders," he said while head coach of the Ravens. "But I think every person out there on that field is a captain in their own right."

Last year, Giants players voted for five season-long captains, two of which are currently on the roster in outside linebacker Brian Burns and wide receiver Darius Slayton. The former is coming off his third Pro Bowl appearance while the latter holds the distinction as the longest-tenured Giant.

Harbaugh's philosophy on leadership likely hasn't changed, regardless of whether it is stitched onto the chest of a jersey. Everyone needs to be a leader in their own right.

There are levels to this, though, he said.

On defense, Burns is an unquestioned leader. Tremaine Edmunds, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker, will quarterback the defense for his new team. Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux has drawn praise from Harbaugh this offseason as the "number one question-asker in all the meetings."

Offensively, you have to look at Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, who sparked the team as rookies. The offensive line has plenty of leadership, especially their veteran bookends Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor. In terms of newcomers, nobody has more Pro Bowls (six) on the team than fullback Patrick Ricard. Likewise, tight end Isaiah Likely knows what it takes to play for Harbaugh based on his days in Baltimore. The same goes for punter-holder Jordan Stout, an All-Pro performer for the Ravens who is currently surrounded by two young kickers and an undrafted rookie long snapper.

Back to Harbaugh's point, you could keep listing players, but it will take a little from everyone to get the ship sailing in the right direction.

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Take a look at rare photos of New York Giants training camps through the years.

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