Syracuse Football: Eric Dungey can’t afford a setback with Giants

Former Syracuse football QB Eric Dungey can’t afford a setback with the New York Giants. Here’s why that’s the case and what he has to do to prevent that.

This is what we like to call a double-edged sword in the business.

On one hand, former Syracuse football quarterback Eric Dungey is learning an entirely new position (tight end) with the New York Giants on the same timeline that someone else is trying to make the team on a position they know.

That second point is important because time is of the essence. Players who are on the bottom can’t afford a setback and that’s especially true for Dungey.

Per New York Giants beat reporter Art Stapleton, Dungey has encountered a potentially serious setback:

"“Former Syracuse QB Eric Dungey working with TEs and on special teams. Spent most of today’s OTA practice in the field house. I’m told the rookie’s work being monitored right now after he tweaked his back. He’s been in attendance throughout.”"

Back injuries are nothing to play around with. Although the positive to take out of this is at least he’s still in attendance at OTAs for the Giants and not on a stretcher.

For Giants fans perhaps this doesn’t seem like a huge development, but for Syracuse fans, they know Dungey’s durability history all too well.

In four seasons on the hill, Dungey missed a total of nine games from a variety of injuries including:

• Concussions (although at Syracuse more times than not they were labeled “upper body injuries”), but his family insists there weren’t as many as people claim or any at all, per Nate Mink of Syracuse.com.
• Dungey broke his foot vs Florida State in 2017 and continued to play on it.

For the first time in Eric’s Syracuse career, he started every game of his senior season, but not without a few scares. The worst one being in Week 11 vs Notre Dame when early in the first quarter he collapsed on the field.

Syracuse labeled it simply another “upper body injury” but being there live at Yankee Stadium, it didn’t look like that at all. Dungey was tackled on a running play and then on the next play before snapping the ball he reached for his lower back and experienced a cataclysmic body failure.

It was later reported that Dungey had to be carried/carted to the team bus following the game.

So in other words, Eric has had a long history of trying to stay healthy. He has done everything in his power to prevent that by living in the workout room, but this latest back injury with the Giants is concerning.

Of course health-wise, but even more than that, Dungey only has a short time to impress the Giants. He can’t afford an injury setback that forces him to ride the pine on the sideline.

If Eric isn’t on the field, someone else is, and they’re trying to take his roster spot away. If he wants to shut the naysayers up, he’ll have to reverse his injury track record and stay on the field. Dungey’s best ability right now is availability.