Sam Beal on Monday said “there’s been ups and downs’’ for him in the past 12 months.
This is not an understatement.
“I can only speak for right now, and right now I’m enjoying it,’’ Beal said.
The Giants’ 24-year-old cornerback has experienced far more downs than ups in his unimpressive and underactive time with the team that took him in the third round of the 2018 supplemental draft. He was once — briefly — considered a promising member of the defensive backfield, but this summer he is in an uphill battle to remain on the roster.
“I just want to be a part of this team, show these coaches what I can do and help this team as much as I can,’’ Beal said. “I love football, it’s all I’ve been doing since I came here and I’m glad to be back with the Giants this camp to show what I can do.’’
There are 11 cornerbacks in this camp, and Beal is on the outside looking in. James Bradberry and Adoree’ Jackson are the starters, and Darnay Holmes is set in the slot. Rookie Aaron Robinson, a third-round pick, should be a lock to make the final roster, but he has yet to practice coming off a core muscle injury. Rodarius Williams, a sixth-round pick, has flashed in his first NFL camp and at 24 years old is a mature rookie. Isaac Yiadom and Madre Harper return from last season, as does Jarren Williams. Chris Milton and Quincy Wilson both have some NFL experience to lean on.
Beal’s résumé is flimsy. He missed his entire 2018 rookie season on injured reserve after hurting his shoulder in his first camp. A hamstring injury early in the 2019 season delayed his debut until November, and he eventually found his way into six games, with three starts. His work on the field was nothing special, with 26 tackles and a passer rating in coverage of 104.2, according to Pro Football Focus. His highlight came in Week 15 against the Dolphins when a lunging stop near the goal line turned into a tackle in the end zone for safety in a 36-20 Giants victory.
Beal has more than football to worry about when it comes to finding a way to stick around. In June he pleaded guilty to two gun-related charges in Lorain County, Ohio, from a June 2020 arrest. Beal was stopped for a traffic violation and subsequently charged with carrying a concealed weapon and improperly handling a firearm in a vehicle and also for marijuana possession. Beal entered into a pretrial diversion program and is on two-year probation.
Beal was indicted on the gun charges in August 2020. Eight days prior to that, he informed the Giants he was opting out for 2020, as was his right during a COVID-19 season.
The legal issues, Beal said, were not reported accurately. There was no elaboration from Beal.
“Anybody in that position would want to explain themselves, you know what I mean?’’ he said. “Because if things didn’t happen the way they should’ve, of course, you would want them to know your side of the story and what happened. So, of course I talked to a bunch of coaches and let them know my side of the story of what really happened. And a lot of guys on social media had a story or something and they didn’t necessarily have the true facts.’’
“It’s kind of too late now, so I’ll let [the media] go about it how you guys go about it,’’ he said. “I’ll go about it how I go about it.’’
The Giants could have cut ties with Beal soon after learning of the arrest. They did so with cornerback DeAndre Baker, a 2019 first-round pick, after Baker was arrested for serious gun charges in Florida. Baker was subsequently cleared of all charges and is currently with the Chiefs. Beal remains, for now.