The New York Giants have dealt with their fair share of injuries the past few seasons, notably to the wide receiver core. In 2021, they struggled to keep their regular playmakers on the football field, with Kenny Golladay missing three games and Kadarius Toney missing seven.
That is not even to mention Saquon Barkley missing four games and 15 games in 2020. The hope is that better management and execution will lead to fewer injuries. The Giants have also dealt with turf-related issues at MetLife, which has taken a toll on players’ knees and ankles.
- Giants’ Joe Schoen drops draft nuggets, Darren Waller and Darius Slayton insight, needs at quarterback
- Could the Giants package their disgruntled wide receiver in a trade to move up the draft order?
- Giants could snag under-the-rader tight end in the mid-rounds
The Giants have had a lengthy list of injured players wearing red jerseys during practice:
“We’ve had quite a few injuries where a lot of those guys that are maybe slightly dinged up or we didn’t want to push them too hard because we don’t play until September — seeing them on the field,” Schoen told The Irish NFL Show. “Whether it’s Kenny Golladay or Kadarius Toney or Sterling Shepard and Blake Martinez… There’s some players that are good players in this league that I didn’t get to see a lot this spring.”
Schoen mentions that Golladay, Toney, Sterling Shepard, and Blake Martinez have all been limited in some capacity. Both Kayvon Thibodeaux and Aaron Robinson, two impact players on the defensive side, are dealing with ailments.
“I am anxious to see. . . Hopefully — knock on wood — we can get 90 guys out there ready to go in late July when we first come back. There’s some players that I just haven’t been around and I haven’t really seen them do much this spring because they were injured.”
Head coach Brian Daboll stated several days ago that he learned a lot from the Buffalo Bills about managing injuries and keeping players healthy. Last season, Joe Judge forced physical consequences on players for mistakes in practice and poor performance. Unfortunately, those lead to more issues in the injury department, which Daboll is trying to avoid. That is primarily why so many players are wearing red jerseys and participating in individual drills, staying away from live-action.
Training Camp is set to begin in mid-July, so the Giants have a few more weeks to get healthy before they enter a critical part of the off-season program.