Giants want toughness, stability from guard Mark Glowinski

Veteran offensive lineman was team’s only free agent splurge of modest offseason

New York Giants GM Joe Schoen spent the offseason carefully dipping his toes into the waters of NFL free agency, signing a series of veteran players to low-cost, one-year deals. The one modest splurge made by Schoen was to sign veteran guard Mark Glowinski to a three-year, $18.3-million deal with $11.4 million guaranteed.

What made Glowinski worth that investment? Let’s discuss that as we continue our player-by-player profiles of the Giants’ 90-man roster.

By the numbers

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 310
Age: 30
Position: Guard
Experience: 7
Contract: Year 1 of three-year, $18.3 million deal | Guaranteed: $11.4 million | 2022 cap hit: $3.332 million

Career to date

Glowinski is a seven-year veteran guard, with the vast majority of his experience on the right side. He was a fourth-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2015, and spent three seasons there.

Glowinski spent the last four seasons playing right guard for the Indianapolis Colts.

Glowinski has started 74 of 95 regular-season games, and was a full-time starter for Indianapolis during the last four seasons. He has never been named All-Pro or selected to the Pro Bowl.

SB Nation’s Stampede Blue said this about Glowinski’s time in Indianapolis:

While serviceable in pass protection, Glowinski’s consistent calling card for the Colts was in run blocking, and he was a rock solid starting piece for a Colts offensive line that paved roads for running back Jonathan Taylor to rush for over 1,800 rushing yards and have 11 rushing touchdowns during the 2021 campaign.

Glowinski had a 70.1 overall Pro Football Focus grade in 2021 — 62.6 as a pass blocker and 70.6 as a run blocker. He allowed two sacks and a total of 38 pressures on the season, per PFF. Glowinski 95.5 pass-blocking efficiency score, the second-lowest of his career, was just 77th among 85 qualifying guards. His overall pass-blocking score was 32nd, and his run-blocking score was 22nd among 85 qualifiers.

Glowinski and Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson were together in Indianapolis in 2018 when Johnson was assistant line coach for the Colts.

2022 outlook

Glowinski will start at right guard. Along with center Jon Feliciano and — as of now — Shane Lemieux at left guard, Glowinski will provide toughness on the interior that Johnson demands.

“I want guys that are tough and I don’t mean physically tough, I mean mentally tough. If you’re mentally tough you’ll be physically tough,” Johnson said. “I don’t care what they got on the ACT. I don’t care what they got on the Wonderlic. Are they football smart? Can they process the information, can they solve problems?”

Glowinski understands the physical mentality Johnson requires.

“That’s part of the game. That’s the way you want it,” he said this spring. “You want an O-line, you want smart guys, and you also want guys that want to dominate and be aggressive and finish and do all the things that it takes to score points, win games.”

While nearly all of the veteran players Schoen signed are stop-gap types, the money spent on Glowinski indicates the Giants expect more than that from him. If they get what they are hoping from from Glowinski, and the interior of the line as a whole, the Giants could field a capable offensive line for the first time in a while.