The New York Giants continue to take hits on defense, as they previously lost outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter to a season-ending Achilles injury against Dallas two weeks ago.
In week six against Washington, the star of the game was linebacker Tae Crowder, who took a fumble back for a touchdown, giving his team a late lead.
Crowder, who was developing nicely alongside Blake Martinez at middle linebacker, will miss a minimum of three weeks on injured reserve. The new rules due to COVID-19 indicate that a player can make a return in as little as three weeks, and he will have about four weeks to recover, including the BYE week after they play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week eight.
The Giants have placed Tae Crowder on injured reserve. He returned a fumble for a TD against Washington this past Sunday.
Really tough to see as he was growing into his role at MLB alongside blake Martinez very well.
Expect to see David Mayo fill the role but he's no cover LB.
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) October 20, 2020
Against Washington, Crowder finished with a 53.6 coverage grade, his second-best of the year. He had his best grade against the Los Angeles Rams, with a 72.7 coverage grade, via PFF. While he wasn’t stellar against Washington, the defense got the job done and managed to escape with their first victory of the season.
#Giants signed veteran DE Jabaal Sheard off the #Jaguars' practice squad. They placed rookie LB Tae Crowder, who had a TD on Sunday, on IR with a hamstring injury.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 20, 2020
New York Giants are bringing in another defender:
The corresponding move by the Giants was to sign Jabaal Sheard off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. Sheard is an outside linebacker who will not supplement Crowder but rather Lorenzo Carter.
In 2019, he started in 12 games for the Indianapolis Colts, posting 4.5 sacks, 25 combined tackles, nine quarterback hits, and five tackles for a loss. Earlier in his career, back in 2011, Sheard was produced with the Cleveland Browns. He reached a high of 8.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in his rookie year, which is a long way away at this point.
Sheard has since fallen off a bit but brings good experience to the Giants and the ability to rotate in alongside Markus Golden and Kyler Fackrell. It will take him a few weeks to learn the defensive scheme, but I imagine he will quickly incorporate into the Giants’ defense as their pass rushers remain thin. I anticipate a few additional moves being made after Thursday’s contest against the Philadelphia Eagles.