CLEVELAND — When Giants coaches approached wide receiver Matt Cole on Saturday night and asked if he could play cornerback for them, he tried to remind them that he already does. On punt return.
"He was like ‘No, I’m talking about defense,’" Cole said. "I was like ‘It’s too early to be playing games. You can’t be for real.’"
Fast forward about 20 hours and it was very much for real as Cole was lined up on the outside of the Giants’ defense for much of the second half of Sunday’s 17-13 loss to the Browns. With injuries at the position, including in-game ones to Madre Harper (groin) and Quincy Wilson (ankle), Cole was pressed into service at a position he had not manned since high school.