The Giants are calling on one of their former first-round draft picks to help solve the most glaring reason they are off to a 1-3 start to this season: Their shabby offensive line.
Justin Pugh, with 119 NFL starts on his resume, was signed to the practice squad on Tuesday, which figures to be a temporary assignment for him before he gets up to speed and finds his way onto the field.
The addition comes one day after the Giants gave up a franchise-record 11 sacks in a 24-3 loss to the Seahawks.
Pugh, 33, arrived from Syracuse in 2013 as the No. 19 overall pick and spent five years with the Giants, playing tackle and guard, before moving on to the Cardinals for the past five seasons.
He tore his right ACL in Week 6 last season and told The Post recently he did not believe he would need much time to get up to speed once he signed with a team.
His preference was a return to the Giants.
“I still got some good snaps in me,’’ Pugh said last month. “If you look at what I’ve done my last few years in Arizona, I’m one of the best pass protecting left guards in football. Run game, I’m not this big, huge mauler, that’s why [former Giants general manager] Dave Gettleman let me go, because I wasn’t a 330 pound road grader but that’s not what the NFL is anymore. I think I bring a lot to the table in terms of my play and what I do off the field.’’
Pugh said he sees himself as a left guard.
The state of the Giants’ offensive line is chaotic.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas has missed the past three games with a strained hamstring.
The rookie starting center, John Michael Schmitz, went out against Seattle with a shoulder injury in the first quarter, blocking on a failed quarterback sneak.
Later in the game, guard Shane Lemieux was forced out with a groin issue.
Josh Ezeudu is playing out of position filling in for Thomas, second-year Marcus McKethan has been forced-fed a starting job at right guard and right tackle Evan Neal has not come close to living up to expectations as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
How Pugh can help remains to be seen. He lives in the Phoenix area and he and his wife are expecting their first child.
He has dabbled in real estate as a second career but did not give up his quest to leave football on his own terms.
He told The Post recently he would only return to play for a contender. Where the Giants, in last place in the NFC East, fit in also remains to be seen.
“If we don’t have a chance to go to the playoffs, I’m not doing this for the money,’’ Pugh said at the time. “I’m not asking for what I was getting early on in my career, I’m doing this to chase a ring and that’s something that has to be a realistic expectation as well.’’