YONKERS NATIVE GAVIN HESLOP SIGNS WITH THE NEW YORK GIANT S

BY AJ WOODSON

Heslop joined Seattle as an undrafted rookie in 2020 and spent almost that entire season on the team’s practice squad. He was elevated to the lineup for one game, but didn’t see the field.

The 6-foot Heslop made his NFL debut for the Seahawks last Nov. 21 vs. Arizona. He also played at Washington on Nov. 29 and at Houston on Dec. 12. During the Texans game he took the field for four defensive and 30 special teams snaps and had one special teams tackle before breaking both his fibula and tibia.

Heslop had to be carted off the field, but had successful surgery a few days after the injury.

At Stony Brook University, Heslop started 37 consecutive games and recorded 138 total tackles, 21.0 tackles for loss and a pair of fumble returns for touchdowns. He earned captain honors as a senior in 2019 and was also named third-team All-CAA Football after registering 52 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two blocked kicks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, returning one for a touchdown.

Heslop was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, the same high school as his future college teammates including quarterback Tyquell Fields and cornerback TJ Morrison. Heslop was named to the NYSSWA First Team All-New York State, as well as the USA Today All-New York team. Heslop played a large role in Stepinac’s 2014 CHSFL AAA championship team, the school’s first since 1955, recording 60 tackles, three interceptions and three sacks a senior while rushing for 440 yards and six touchdowns. In 2014, Heslop also had a 68-yard interception returned for a touchdown to help Stepinac defeat rival St. Anthony’s High School for the first time since 1983.

Yonkers native and former Stony Brook University standout Gavin Heslop is now a New York Giant. The Giants added Heslop, the former Seattle Seahawk on Friday, July 22nd, terminating the contract of tackle Korey Cunningham with a non-football injury.

The 6-foot Heslop made his NFL debut for the Seahawks last Nov. 21 vs. Arizona. He also played at Washington on Nov. 29 and at Houston on Dec. 12. During the Texans game he took the field for four defensive and 30 special teams snaps and had one special teams tackle before breaking both his fibula and tibia.

Heslop had to be carted off the field, but had successful surgery a few days after the injury.

After suffering a gruesome leg injury that left him with a broken tibia and fibula in the closing minutes of the Seattle Seahawks’ 33-13 victory over the Houston Texans last season, the Yonkers native and former Stepinac star prayed for another opportunity to impress an NFL team.

“It was a freak accident, something that I thought would never happen to me,” Heslop said of the injury. “You see these kinds of things in movies, and it’s kind of unreal. I didn’t believe it happened to me. It settled in after I got surgery.”

That moment finally came on Friday, July 22nd, when the G-Men brought him in for a workout, then quickly turned around with a contract offer on the same day.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Heslop said. “All I can do is thank God because of what I’ve been through. After breaking my leg, I didn’t see myself being in this position that I’m in right now, so I’m extremely thankful for it.”