Last week, Corey Washington might have missed time on the practice field because of a sore Achilles tendon but he pushed through it, recalling the words of his grandmother, who told him, “No matter what happens, just fight through it. I don’t want to see you back home back in Charleston.’’
It appears Washington won’t be heading home anytime soon. After turning a few heads in the first week of his first NFL training camp, Washington opened even more eyes with a brilliant leaping 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a pass from Ryan Nassib in the 17-13 preseason-opening victory over the Bills on Sunday night.
“How about that … wasn’t that some play by the kid?’’ coach Tom Coughlin gushed Monday.
Washington is the longest of long-shots, an undrafted receiver from Newberry College in South Carolina, signed and waived by the Cardinals, picked up in late May by the Giants. At 6-foot-4, he’s the tallest receiver on the roster and the way he skied over the top of Michael Carter, a 5-foot-11 Bills cornerback, was impressive.
“I can do that, be a deep threat,” he said. “I can catch the ball, you haven’t seen that yet. I can make some moves, move the chains, be a contributor to the team.’’
Rueben Randle, at 6-foot-2, is the next-tallest receiver on the roster, giving Washington an advantage in that he presents a different dimension to the coaching staff.
“It is something that certainly you do sit up and notice when you do see it,’’ Coughlin said. “Can he take it over the top of a defender? Corey certainly showed that he can.’’
The only significant injury coming out of the game was to TE Daniel Fells, who suffered a bone bruise. That is not as bad as the initial diagnosis of a sprained knee.
Coughlin was fairly pleased with the play of backup Nassib (7-of-12 passes, 139 yards, 1 TD) other than an interception thrown directly at a Buffalo linebacker that was nullified by a penalty. Coughlin called the pass “a very bad play, I’m not sure why that happened.’’
Nassib said when he entered the game in the second quarter, he “started to freak out’’ because the headset in his helmet wasn’t working and he had no way to directly communicate with offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.
“I’m thinking, ‘Oh jeez, I’m going to do a high school and run to the sideline on every play,’’ Nassib said. The headset was fixed before Nassib had to take alternative steps.
LT Will Beatty sitting out the preseason opener was “predetermined long in advance’’ and not the result of a late-week migraine headache, Coughlin said. Beatty is returning from a broken leg.
Michael Strahan made the rounds on the Giants sideline prior to the preseason opener and he made sure to check in on Damontre Moore, the second-year defensive end who is thrilled with the budding friendship he’s developed with the newly minted Hall of Famer.
What words of wisdom did Strahan impart to Moore?
“I’m watching you, I’m proud of you, just like I told him, ‘I’m proud of you,’ ’’ Moore told The Post. “He just said, ‘Go out there and play as hard as you can, and we’ll link up after the game like we always do.’ ’’ Moore had one sack vs. the Bills.