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When Jon Halapio joined the New York Giants' practice squad in 2016 P.J. Hall Jersey Elite , Brett Jones was one of the first guys to welcome him.

Jones had joined the Giants the previous year as a center in trying to make the jump from the CFL to the NFL, and he appreciated when some new teammates made him feel welcome.

Why not do the same for Halapio? The two 27-year-old offensive linemen became real good friends and helped each other become better players.

Halapio, a guard at Florida, taught Jones some trade secrets at the spot and Jones taught his buddy how to snap and play center.

A little less than two years later, Jones is fighting to keep the starting center job he manned the final 12 games of last season. And it's Halapio, who is the main competition.

Not only is he the competition, Halapio has been getting most of the first-team snaps in the lineup being put on the field by new coach Pat Shurmur.

Jones isn't worried. It's early in training camp and nothing is set. He also has no regrets about teaching the guy who might take his job.

"It's always been like that in my life," Jones said Monday. "If anybody ever gave me an opportunity I wanted to repay it to them. So that was my thing. Jon was on the practice squad and I was the backup center and if Jon was going to play I wanted to help him out and do what I could. That's what a good teammate does."

Learning to snap was part of the mentoring.

"He had asked me and I sort of gave him the basic training for it," said Jones, who was the CFL's most outstanding lineman in 2014 and missed his first season in the NFL the following year because of a training camp injury. "After practice we would stay and practice snapping. It sort of went from there."

Halapio took the long road to the NFL. He was drafted in the sixth round by New England in 2014. He was on the Broncos' practice squad that season and went to the Cardinals and Patriots training camps in 2015 and '16, respectively Adidas David Pastrnak Jersey , getting cut each time.

The Giants signed him to the practice squad for most of 2016. He was cut in training camp the following season and re-signed to the practice squad. Injuries got him on the active roster in October and he played in 10 games with six starts at guard.

The move to center came this year.

"Everything was new so I had to learn a lot, not only the schemes, but the different techniques and calls," Halapio said. "I had to learn a lot."

The biggest differences are blocking from a balanced stance, having to make line calls and read coverages and sometimes making the shotgun snaps.

"The more you do it, the better you get," Halapio said. "In the offseason I snapped a bunch, and even now I keep snapping after practice so it's second nature."

Halapio admits fighting Jones for a job felt odd at first.

"It's just pure competition now," Halapio said. "Like coach says all the time, don't read into who's taking the first-team reps. Everyone is being evaluated. As far as me and Brett goes, we're friends. We help each other out in the film room Robert Golden Color Rush Jersey , on the field, outside of football. Nothing is awkward between us. Yeah, it's just pure competition between us and everybody in the room."

The Giants have revamped their offensive line after last year's disastrous 3-13 season. Guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg signed elsewhere as free agents. Guard John Jerry is now a backup fighting for a roster spot.

Patriots free agent Nate Solder was signed to take over at left tackle and 2015 first-rounder Ereck Flowers was moved to right tackle. Second-round draft pick Will Hernandez is the left guard and free agent Patrick Omameh is the right guard.

The center spot is uncertain.

A former center, Shurmur says he is watching the position closely. He wants his centers to be good communicators.

Halapio might be a little stronger than Jones, who probably understands the job better and had 30 NFL games under his belt at guard and center.

It should be an interesting decision for Shurmur.

Ryan Shazier's routine hasn't changed much, even after a life-altering spinal injury put his football career in jeopardy.

The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker still arrives at the team facility around 7 a.m. He still watches copious amounts of film. He still works out regularly, often with his teammates alongside. And he still believes one day he will run out of the Heinz Field tunnel in full uniform despite the many obstacles he understands are in his path.

"My dream is to come back and play football again," Shazier said on Wednesday in his first wide-ranging public remarks since undergoing spine stabilization surgery last December. "I'm working my tail off every single day; have (playing again) in the back of my mind every single time I go to rehab."

Shazier walked into the media room with help of a cane and spent 20 minutes outlining his journey since he lowered his head to hit Bengals wide receiver Josh Malone in the first quarter on Dec. 4. He called the moment after impact when he grabbed the small of his back while his legs lay motionless "a little scary," but was quick to thank emergency responders in Cincinnati for their delicate work on the field in the immediate aftermath.

He underwent spine stabilization surgery on Dec. 6 and has spent the intervening months remaining adamant he would play again while being a fixture at the team's practice facility, where he has become a de facto coach. It's a role he's embracing, but one he's not quite ready to accept on a full-time basis.

"Just because I got hurt doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving the game of football Authentic Tanner Lee Jersey ," said Shazier, who added that despite the injury he's going to give it "everything I have" in an effort to return to play.

Details of the exact nature of Shazier's injury and his long-term prognosis remain sparse. He declined to get into specifics about whether playing again is even medically feasible, saying his medical team has told him to focus on making incremental improvements.

"Honestly right now, I'm not a doctor," Shazier said. "Every day I take it one day at a time. The further we get along in rehab, the better they can give me answers."

Shazier has made remarkable progress in the last six months. He spent several weeks in the hospital following surgery, though he took time out to attend several Steelers home games near the end of the 2017 season. He regularly posts updates through his social media accounts and provided an indelible moment during the NFL draft in April when he walked on stage in Dallas to announce Pittsburgh's first-round selection.

Though he's from Florida, Shazier has chosen to stay in Pittsburgh in part because it helps him feel like "I'm still myself."

He's received a massive outpouring of support from all over, including an avalanche of "Get Well" letters from over 500 students at an elementary school.

T-shirts emblazoned with his familiar No. 50 and the phrase #Shalieve 鈥?the hashtag Shazier made famous in the early stages of his recovery 鈥?have become fashionable across Pittsburgh with fans and fellow athletes. Several members of the Pittsburgh Pirates have donned the T-shirts after games as tribute.

"I've met a lot of interesting people, a lot of people I never thought I'd meet," Shazier said.

The Steelers placed him on injured reserve last month Cheap Jalyn Holmes Jersey , ending any chance of a comeback in 2018. The team also modified his contract so that he would receive the majority of the $8.7 million he is due this year up front.

The 25-year-old two-time Pro Bowler believes walking without assistance is the next milestone, one he refuses to put a timetable on. He is trying instead to focus on his health, how to best help the Steelers even if he can't join them in the huddle, while making sure to appreciate it that he's made it even this far. He understands some do not.

There is no guarantee Shazier will be able to run again without assistance, let alone throw on a pair of shoulder pads. It's something he'll live with if he has to. Yet he owes it to himself to try.

"I'm fine with whatever outcome comes with it," he said. "I try to stay as positive as possible."

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