New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll said five key starters will not practice Wednesday due to injuries. They include running back Saquon Barkley, receiver Darius Slayton, tackle Evan Neal, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, and linebacker Bobby Okereke.
Barkley, who has seen his workload increase since the team lost quarterback Daniel Jones to a season-ending ACL injury, is getting an extra rest day and does not appear to be in danger of missing Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
Slayton, who was initially announced to have an arm injury, actually has a neck injury, possibly suggesting the presence of a burner. His status for Sunday is unknown.
Neal continues to deal with an ankle sprain that has kept him out of the last two games. Daboll said earlier that Neal’s situation is “week to week.”
Lawrence, who had been receiving a rest day on Wednesdays, is listed with a hamstring strain, the severity unknown.
Lawrence has been an ironman for the Giants, having never missed a game due to injury (he missed Week 17 last year in the game against the Eagles, where all the starters were pulled for that week.)
Okereke, who showed up on the injury report last week with a hip issue, is now listed as having a hip and a rib ailment.
The linebacker told The Athletic that he has a partially fractured rib and a dislocated pinky, the pinky being the mot painful of the ailments, and said it’s a matter of pain management. Okereke has not missed a defensive snap for the Giants this season.
Daboll confirmed that cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who missed the last two games with a concussion, has progressed to non-contact status in the protocol. Jackson’s status for Sunday is too soon to tell, but it appears to be trending toward him missing a third game.
The team has also opened the 21-day window on rookie running back Eric Gray (ankle), who has been on injured reserve.
New York has an opening on its 53-man roster, but it’s unclear if they will use it on Gray or perhaps to sign kicker Randy Bullock, whose three practice squad elevations have been used up.
Lastly, Jones, who told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams show Tuesday that he was to have his ACL surgery on Wednesday, did indeed have that surgery, the team announced.
The surgery, performed by Dr. Scott Rodeo at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, was characterized as a success by a Giants team spokesperson who also didn’t mention any other repair work done to Jones’s knee, a good sign.
