Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 310 lbs.
Age: 26
NFL Exp.: 4 seasons
College: Oregon
The New York Giants selected Shane Lemieux in the fifth round (150th overall) in the 2020 draft to make him a vital part of this Giants offensive line. But what would unfold over his four-year tenure was far from what the Giants and Lemieux had envisioned, as major injuries impacted the youngster’s ability to succeed.
Before Lemieux put on a Giants uniform, he made quite a name for himself at Oregon, being one of the starting offensive linemen for Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. After getting settled in as a freshman and sophomore, it wasn’t until Lemieux’s junior and senior years that he became the promising guard prospect he became.
In his junior season, Lemieux played in 933 offensive snaps (489 pass blocking) and allowed 11 pressures and two sacks. As a senior, Lemieux took his progress a notch higher. In 935 offensive snaps (497 passing blocking), Lemieux conceded 17 pressures but just one sack in the process. And in each of his two final seasons at Oregon, Lemieux did finish with pass-blocking efficiency scores of over 98 percent.
Despite his success in college, Lemieux found it quite difficult to produce the same results in the NFL. After beginning his rookie season as a backup, Lemieux received his first starting opportunity in Week 8 following the COVID-19 diagnosis of Giants starting left guard Will Hernandez. Though Lemieux held onto the starting role for the remainder of the regular season, he struggled in pass protection.
In nine games (299 pass-blocking snaps played), Lemieux allowed 25 pressures and five sacks. Lemieux allowed three or more pressures in five of his nine starts and had one game with no pressure. Considering how he played in college, his rookie performance was shocking, particularly since he received the opportunity to start in nine games in 2020.
From that point forth, things took a turn for the worse. In 2021, Lemieux suffered a knee injury earlier in camp. Despite trying to play through it come Week 1, Lemieux re-injured it. It was later revealed that Lemieux had damaged his patella tendon, leading him to receive season-ending surgery on September 22, 2021.
Though Lemieux missed virtually all of the 2021 season, he would return in 2022 only to sustain a toe injury in the preseason against the New England Patriots. The Giants placed Lemieux on injured reserve to start the season, and he wouldn’t be activated until Week 11. Despite starting against the Detroit Lions that week and playing in 39 offensive snaps, Lemieux’s struggles continued, allowing five pressures and a sack.
Shortly after, it was revealed that Lemieux had reaggravated his toe injury that same game and was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list soon after. He only played in one game for the second straight season and a combined 56 offensive snaps in two years.
WR Parris Campbell | QB Tyrod Taylor | CB Adoree Jackson | OLB Jihad Ward | Isaiah Simmons | DT A'Shawn Robinson | RB Matt Breida | S Xavier McKinney | OT Matt Peart | LS Casey Kreiter | IOL Ben Bredeson
Entering 2023, Lemieux regained strength and healed from the handful of big injuries he sustained. The Giants were hoping the young backup could make a comeback in 2023. After an eventful preseason, in which Lemieux didn’t allow a single pressure in 69 pass-blocking opportunities, he would finally get another shot to start against the San Francisco 49ers over Week 3 in place of guard Ben Bredeson.
Though Lemieux didn’t have the best return against the 49ers, allowing five pressures and a sack in 40 pass-blocking snaps, his performance the following week against the Seahawks fared much better. Despite not being named a starter in Week 4, Lemieux did play in 27 pass-blocking snaps that game and allowed just one pressure.
However, his season was once again cut short when, after tearing his biceps in practice following the Giants Week 4 loss, Lemieux was placed on injured reserve on October 23. Following his nine starts as a rookie in 2020, Lemieux has only played six games in over three years (a total of 147 offensive snaps).
Because Lemieux was absent from so many games over the last three years, his value on the free-agent market probably won’t be very high. So if the Giants are in a pinch with their cap space, they might want to bring back Lemieux, who can play guard and center, on a one-year deal to pad their depth. Seeing he’s 26 years old, the Giants might want to give Lemieux one more chance to produce at the level they’ve expected from him.
If there’s one label that an athlete wants to avoid receiving at all costs over their career, it’s "injury prone," and that, unfortunately, is what Lemieux has become. These injuries that cost him large chunks of the season further stunt his development to the point where if the Giants are going to develop a player, they might as well get a rookie on a smaller contract rather than reinvest in a second contract for a veteran.
Seeing the Giants have the opportunity to pad their offensive line depth in the 2024 NFL Draft and free agency, it is in their best interest to move on from Lemieux. Though he likely won't come with a hefty price tag, Lemieux has simply struggled to stay healthy and ready in three straight seasons, which has his development.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
Kirk Cousins might be relegated to the job of backup quarterback, but he is showing veteran leadership to his Atlanta Falcons teammates. Following Sunday's practice, Cousins pulled aside rookie defensive end James Pearce to encourage the first-round pick after his fourth practice in the league at Flowery Branch, Georgia. "QB Kirk Cousins pulled aside Pearce after practice to compliment him on a pass batted down," wrote Marc Raimondi of ESPN. Cousins reportedly had a solid day of practice on Sunday, going 7-of-12 passing against the first-team unit. If Cousins wants out of Atlanta, he's not showing it at practice. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback is competing on the field and being a good teammate around the facility. Cousins' actions on the field backed up what Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot praised Cousins for before the team's practice on Sunday. “Outside, it's a lot more of a deal than it is in the building,” Fontenot said to the media about the idea of friction between the Falcons and Cousins, per video from D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He shows up, he does his job, just like anybody ... We've gotta build the best 70-man roster so we can go win games. "That's what we're focused on, and Kirk, just like all the other players, is focused on coming in here and doing their job. That's what he's been doing." Fontenot didn't dismiss the idea that Atlanta would trade Cousins before the season. He said the Falcons will do whatever it takes to make the team better, but stressed that Cousins has been a professional throughout the process of being replaced by Michael Penix Jr., a first-round pick from the 2024 draft. “In terms of making moves, whether it's trades or acquiring players, we're always looking at those factors," Fontenot said. "We're gonna do whatever we can do to make this team the best it can possibly be. But he's been a great professional, and he's handled himself well.” Cousins is coming to work in a manner that will make another owner want to take a chance on the veteran quarterback. That could be one of his best-selling points before he plays in his 13th season in the league.
Boasting a 62-44 record in the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs are still searching for a way to pull ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers took sole possession of first place in the division from the Cubs in an 8-4 win on Monday. Chicago will get its chance before the three-game set is over, but if the Cubs should fall to the Brewers, the trade deadline will be viewed as essential for their World Series chances. Several rumors of Chicago’s interest in starters, relievers and third basemen have swirled nonstop. And while they have shown interest in several quality names — Mitch Keller, Eugenio Suárez, MacKenzie Gore — some of their other trade targets are less than ideal. Among their worst sources of interest (if not, the worst) is struggling Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias, who is in his walk year. Hiding behind his shining 2.99 career ERA is a rather shocking, career-high 4.97 ERA, to which he has pitched this season. He is still a strikeout pitcher, having accumulated 46 Ks in 41.2 innings, but his run prevention capabilities have seemingly deteriorated. It was only last season when Iglesias posted a stellar 1.95 ERA. Since then, his home run total doubled, from surrendering just four last year to eight so far this year. His opponent batting average has also jumped, from .160 to .250. Iglesias is no stranger to success. He threw to ERAs south of 3.00 in eight of his 11 MLB years. However, this season, he just doesn’t appear to have it. Any team that trades for Iglesias in the last year of his contract would be betting that he can return to elite form before the season is over. Taking a risk on a pitcher like Iglesias in his current condition, especially when there are several other more reliable arms on the market, would be ill-advised. And for the Cubs, who are in a win-now position, having secured one guaranteed year of Kyle Tucker, taking a gamble on Iglesias could easily risk everything they worked for this season.
The Sacramento Kings have been busy this offseason as they have made multiple moves to upgrade their roster to chase a playoff spot in the Western Conference next season. It all started in the 2025 draft for the Kings where they traded into the first round to select Nique Clifford and then used their second-round pick to draft Maxime Raynaud. They then landed Dennis Schroder in free agency via a sign-and-trade deal with the Detroit Pistons to upgrade their starting point guard position. Sacramento has also been linked to many other players in free agency this offseason, including Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga who is a restricted free agent. If the Kings want Kuminga, they will have to acquire him via a sign-and-trade with the Warriors and if they are able to do so, Sactown Sports 1140’s Allen Stiles believes that they will move on from one of their star players. “I believe that there is a handshake agreement between DeMar DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings. That is my belief,” Stiles said. “If Jonathan Kuminga is acquired by the Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento Kings will get their butts in gear as far as getting DeMar DeRozan to another team.” This is a bold statement by Stiles but one that makes sense since DeRozan and Kuminga play the same position. Of course, DeRozan has been in trade rumors since the end of last season for the Kings but he has not had a large trade market thus far which has kept him on Sacramento’s roster. That may change if they are able to land Kuminga though as they would want Kuminga in their starting lineup which would force them to move DeRozan. If this ends up being the case and Stiles is right, the Kings may not receive a large trade package in return for their veteran forward but it would allow them to open up playing time for Kuminga if they are able to acquire him from Golden State.
The Green Bay Packers decided to cut cornerback Jaire Alexander last month, a rather frustrating move considering the Packers didn’t really have much of an answer to replace him. One of the primary reasons Green Bay released Alexander was because of his inability to stay healthy, as the two-time Pro Bowler played in just 14 games over the last two seasons and 34 over the last four. He refused to take a pay cut, and the Packers did not feel justified paying that much money for a guy who was rarely on the field. Well, Green Bay was kind of validated in its decision to move on from Alexander in training camp, as the 28-year-old is already sidelined in Baltimore Ravens camp due to swelling in his knee, via Jason B. Hirschhorn of The Leap. Alexander is going to have his knee drained and is expected to practice on Tuesday, but the fact that he is already experiencing injury issues in Baltimore is evidence that the Packers made the right move. Of course, it would have been nice if Green Bay cut Alexander back in March rather than in June, as it would have given the team a better opportunity to add another cornerback, either via free agency or the NFL Draft. Yes, the Packers signed Nate Hobbs, but the general consensus at the time was that he was being added to play alongside of Alexander; not to replace him. Green Bay has very limited proven depth at the position, and had the Packers known for sure they would be parting ways with Alexander earlier in the offseason, perhaps they would have been more inclined to bring in another corner. When healthy, Alexander is terrific. During his last healthy campaign in 2022, he racked up 56 tackles, five interceptions and 14 passes defended en route to a Pro Bowl appearance, but that’s just the thing: it’s rare that the former first-round pick isn’t dealing with some sort of injury.