Two of the Giants’ poorest track records collided to give a third chance to Isaiah Wilson.
Wilson practiced with the rest of the Giants offensive linemen Thursday for the first time since signing to the practice squad. The troubled 2020 first-round pick — who has been arrested several times — has been out of the NFL since March, when he was cut by the Dolphins only three days after acquiring him via trade from the Titans.
Giants coach Joe Judge counts Dolphins coach Brian Flores among his close friends.
“It’s a small league and there are very few secrets in this league when it comes to the players, coaches or anything,” Judge said. “We all have friends and contacts on every team. We do our due diligence with every player and every coach we bring in here. This would be no exception.”
Except the Giants’ record on due diligence over the past five years — predating general manager David Gettleman’s and Judge’s arrival — is as shoddy as their many failed attempts to fix a broken offensive line. The signing “shows you how desperate they are right now,” one NFL source told The Post.
The Giants employed kicker Josh Brown after his domestic-violence incident, ignored well-known red flags on 2019 first-round cornerback DeAndre Baker’s commitment level and were surprised when he was arrested on armed robbery charges, and hung onto cornerback Sam Beal this season after his arrest on a gun charge. But they traded Odell Beckham, who has no known legal trouble, because Gettleman considered him to be a locker-room cancer.
Baker and Wilson were teammates at Georgia, where the football coach (Kirby Smart) is another friend of Judge’s. The Giants hardly are alone in the multiple-chances NFL, as the powerhouse Buccaneers (Antonio Brown, Richard Sherman) and Chiefs (Tyreek Hill, Frank Clark and Josh Gordon) are filled with players who have checkered pasts.
“I’m not going into specifics in terms of any background [check],” Judge said. “In general, everyone is going to start here with a clean slate and earn an opportunity to be part of this team. That’s all based on what they do when they are here — how they perform, how they act in the classroom, how they handle themselves outside our organization.”
The Giants offensive line is in shambles because three-fifths of Sunday’s projected starters are in their first month with the team. They are about to start their fourth left guard in as many games because Ben Bredeson (hand) is likely to be sidelined.
The unquestionably talented Wilson, who went unsigned after a tryout with the Colts last week, isn’t ready to play right away — the 330-pound listing on the roster appears very generous — but the Giants see a low-risk, high-reward potential solution at guard or right tackle. He is returning to a support system after growing up in New York and starring at Brooklyn’s Poly Prep.
Wilson played just one game as a rookie, when his mounting off-field troubles with the Titans reportedly included two unexcused absences where he was later found partying, plus an arrest at gunpoint after a high-speed police chase ended with the recovery of drugs from his wrecked car.
Judge values “love of football” and Wilson’s repeatedly has been questioned.
“He is going to have the opportunity to prove that here,” he said.