ARLINGTON, Texas — There were no guarantees Jon Halapio would ever again suit up for the Giants, ever again find a place in the starting lineup, ever again line up against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, site of his greatest football misery.
Halapio was loaded onto a cart midway through the third quarter of a Week 2 Giants road loss to the Cowboys last season, his lower right leg ankle fractured after getting rolled over by a teammate, running back Wayne Gallman, and an opponent, linebacker Jaylon Smith. Halapio shed tears as he was taken away and recalls that dark day as the loneliest he has felt in his life.
At the time, the Giants coaching staff thought Halapio at center was playing better than any of the starting offensive linemen. His season ended so prematurely and, without a contract for 2019, it could have been the end of the line for him with the Giants.
It was not the end of the line, and Halapio returns Sunday to the scene of his lowest moment, again as the starting center for the Giants.
“I’m just tremendously grateful [general manager Dave] Gettleman and [coach Pat] Shurmur and [offensive line coach Hal] Hunter, they believe in me, sticking me right back in there,’’ Halapio said.
The only benefit of getting hurt so early in one season is Halapio had plenty of time to recover physically for the next. He did not miss a thing in the summer and never lost any traction in a training camp battle with Spencer Pulley, who started nine games as the replacement last season and is, in the mind of Shurmur, like a sixth starter on the line.
“It was like towards the end of the season, early January, I started to feel my legs coming back, my muscles, everything was firing again, the strength was coming back,’’ Halapio said. “The main thing at that point was trying to get the size to match up to my left leg. It’s been a long process, but the Giants’ training staff did a phenomenal job of getting me back right.’’
Shurmur, a former center at Michigan State, is tougher on that position than any other and is a believer in Halapio, a 28-year old who did not make it in New England as a 2014 sixth-round pick and bounced around several NFL practice squads before finding a home with the Giants.
“I feel like he did a good job of coming back from his injury,’’ Shurmur said. “He stayed on point getting himself back physically. He was always in tune mentally. I thought he’s had a really good offseason and training camp. We felt like he was playing well when he got himself hurt last year. Hopefully, he can build on that.”
Halapio was a guard in college at Florida, starting 43 games, and came to center as he was bouncing around from team to team. The Giants added Kevin Zeitler and Mike Remmers on the right side of the line, and Nate Solder and Will Hernandez return on the left side. Halapio is not really a newcomer, nor is he really a returnee. He is entrusted to snap the ball to Eli Manning then protect his quarterback.
“We’ve seen it, when we protect him he makes all these good throws,’’ Halapio said. “So it’s on us as offensive linemen.’’