Justin Pugh open to New York Giants return

Veteran guard Justin Pugh has not retired from the game of football and would like to play again in 2024. However, there are only a select number of situations that could lure him back.

At the top of that list is a reunion with the New York Giants.

“I do still want to play,” Pugh said on The Zach Gelb Show. “I think for me, it comes down to a place I’m familiar with and a place I’m comfortable with. I’d probably would say that place is the New York Giants if I were to come back and play this season.”

A first-round pick of the Giants in the 2013 NFL draft, Pugh returned to the Giants last season after five years with the Arizona Cardinals. He came “right off the couch” and ended up starting along an injury-riddled offensive line.

Pugh is also open to a reunion with the Cardinals but would admittedly prefer the Giants.

“I wouldn’t be against that reunion as well,” Pugh said, “but the New York Giants are really the team I have circled on my shortlist.”

Specifically, Pugh noted, that he’d like to play left guard for whatever team he ends up with, leaving open the possibility that a playoff contender may need him down the line.

Whether or not the Giants have called Pugh or are interested in his return is unclear, but they have recently worked out some free agent guards so a potential Pugh reunion is something worth keeping an eye on.