No question needed to be asked Thursday afternoon before cornerback Jayron Hosley, unprompted, said he had something to say.
“First of all, I really need to get this off my chest,’’ Hosley said, making his first public comments since the news hit a day earlier that he was suspended for the first four games of the NFL regular season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
“I want to apologize to the ownership of the New York Giants. Those guys, they’re the ones that believe in me. The GM, Jerry Reese, my coaches and, most importantly, my teammates and the fans. My teammates, we go on the field every day and battle together. We spend time off the field together. I really don’t want this to be all about me and taking the attention away from the team because it’s about the team first. I feel like I had to say that.’’
Hosley explained he failed a drug test last season. He appealed his suspension to the league, but finally dropped his appeal this spring.
“I’m not going to sit here and get into the specifics,’’ Hosley said. “I made a mistake, there’s a consequence to everything that you do. I’ve got to be man enough to accept them and move on. That’s the phase I’m at now.’’
The third-year cornerback, a 2012 third-round draft pick from Virginia Tech, has played in 25 games in his first two seasons with the Giants, starting seven games. The Giants viewed him as an undersized but competitive slot corner, but his ranking on the depth chart has dropped with the signing in free agency of Walter Thurmond from the Seahawks. Still, a team cannot have enough cornerbacks, and it appears the Giants will stick with Hosley, unlike their decision earlier this week to waive safety Will Hill after he was hit with his third suspension by the NFL, this one for the first six games of the 2014 season.
“Well, it’s disappointing as heck, as you can imagine,” coach Tom Coughlin said of Hosley’s suspension. “Next man up. We move on, somebody else has to step up and go.”
Hosley admitted “I’ve dealt with issues,’’ and said he currently seeing a counselor.
“This was something that went on last season,’’ he said. “I was trying to appeal it and the ball didn’t bounce my way. I’m not going to sit here and go over, like I said before, not go over all of those things. Right now is about dealing with the issues and moving on, not dwelling on what happened or what could have happened. Right now is about dealing with it and moving on.’’
The offensive highlight from Thursday’s OTA practice was WR Victor Cruz easily beating LB Jacquian Williams on a crossing route and taking Eli Manning’s pass for a long catch-and-run gain. … Brandon Mosley lined up as the starting right guard in place of Chris Snee, who was rested, something that will be fairly commonplace with Snee coming off hip and elbow surgeries.
The installation of first-year offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system is ongoing.
“You always want more,” Tom Coughlin said. “But, I have to say again, they made progress this week, sizable progress this week.”
The Giants last week cut QB Josh Freeman after barely a month with the team.
“I’ll just say that we did a good job of assessing his ability,’’ Coughlin said. “Eli [Manning] has come along and is much more capable physically than we anticipated.’’
With Will Hill waived after facing a six-game suspension, Quintin Demps rises on the depth chart to the No. 3 safety role. Demps was signed mainly as a kickoff returner but now he’s in line to fill a role on defense. “Obviously with him gone I bump up,” Demps said … The Giants have $7 million in salary-cap space. … Several players, mostly on the defensive side of the ball, planned to gather in Manhattan Thursday night to watch Game 1 of the NBA Finals.