Jayron Hosley made plenty of noise in his first training camp last summer, and worked his way into the nickel-back role with the Giants. He struggled through predictable growing pains in his first NFL season and returns for his second camp in a less noticeable role.
With veteran Aaron Ross re-signed after a one-year hiatus with the Jaguars, Hosley is mostly working as the fourth cornerback. That doesn’t mean the Giants have given up on last year’s third-round draft pick, and he will push for increased time if he continues to perform the way he did in practice Tuesday.
Curtis Painter, looking for receiver Kevin Hardy deep over the middle, misfired and the ball was intercepted by Hosley. His best moment may have been when he ran stride-for-stride with Victor Cruz and was in the exact right spot to deflect Eli Manning’s pass out of the air as Cruz reached out and grabbed nothing but air. Later, Hosley also made a solid play defending against tight end Larry Donnell to break up a pass from David Carr.
* Offensive lineman James Brewer, not yet cleared from his concussion, did some running outside as the team practiced inside the field house due to the rain. Cornerback Corey Webster (groin) sat out again, as did rookie defensive end Damontre Moore (shoulder). … Cornerback Prince Amukamara continues to make plays. He ran step-for-step with Hakeem Nicks, leaped and came away with an over-the-shoulder interception of Manning. Nicks appeared to stumble a bit coming off the line, which may have messed with the timing. Nicks, though, ran better than he had thus far in camp, showing glimpses of his old self.
He looked especially quick on a slant and got open over the middle during a goal-line drill.
* Rookie Justin Pugh continued to get work at left tackle with the second offensive line. At the end of practice, in the two-minute drill, Pugh was in at right tackle with the starters, replacing David Diehl.
“He’s got a ways to go, but he’s in there fighting,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said of Pugh, who missed 11 days of camp with a concussion.
In the two-minute drill, Cruz beat cornerback Terrell Thomas deep on the left sideline but Manning’s pass glanced off Cruz’s hands. Thomas didn’t hang with Cruz but he is getting increased reps, a good sign as he continues his comeback from his second ACL surgery in the past year. … Coughlin said he expects Justin Tuck and Nicks to make their preseason debuts Sunday night against the Colts. “I don’t foresee any reason why they wouldn’t jump into the rotation now,’’ Coughlin said.
* Fullback Ryan D’Imperio from Rutgers, signed at the start of camp, informed the Giants he was retiring from football. He was placed on the reserve/retired list and replaced on the roster by another fullback, Ben Guidugli, most recently on the Rams practice squad.