New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell was carted off the field with an apparent neck injury during the game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, November 1st, 2015. Was that the last play of Larry’s short NFL career? Paul Schwartz of the New York Post thinks it might be.
The setback came just three weeks after his game-winning catch against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, in which he somehow fought off a defender to not only make a very athletic grab, but hold on as he slammed to the turf.
Following that phenomenal snag, many thought Donnell would recapture the magic he displayed at times in the 2014 season. Stu Woo of The Wall Street Journal claimed Donnell was “wired for success“. Mark Inabinett of AL.com wrote that Donnell – an Alabama native – was bracing for the spotlight.
With the First Pick
Then, in Week 6, Donnell had three catches for 29 yards receiving against the Philadelphia Eagles on five targets. One of those targets was a pass to the short left with a little over five minutes left in the first quarter and the Giants driving for another score up 7-0, when Donnell allowed linebacker DeMeco Ryans to rip the ball from his hands in what was ruled an interception, but served as the game-changing moment the Giants couldn’t bounce back from.
The next week against the Dallas Cowboys, Donnell caught 4 passes for 18 yards on five targets, all of which came in the first half. In the Week 8 game against New Orleans, Larry had one catch for 22 yards.
Donnell’s replacement, Will Tye, took a couple weeks to get adjusted but then settled in nicely as a reliable target for Eli Manning, especially in the red zone. From Week 10 on, Tye had at least three receptions per game, had four weeks of at least 50 receiving yards, and earned nicknames like “The Touchdown Guy” and “Baby Gates” for his likeness to San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates.
Right around Thanksgiving, SB Nation reported that Donnell was cleared by doctors while other sources indicated Larry could miss the rest of the season shortly thereafter. In early December, Donnell was placed on season-ending injured reserve.
As reporters have noted, the Giants aren’t strangers to promising players having their careers cut short due to neck injuries; linebacker Antonio Pierce and running back David Wilson being the most prolific.
Giants GM Jerry Reese addressed Donnell’s neck injury and the state of the tight end position during his press conference at the NFL scouting combine:
"“Larry Donnell had the neck injury, he’s coming back and hopefully he’ll be able to continue to play. We’re expecting him to be back, but necks can be tricky so we’ll have to wait and see where that goes… We’ll respect what our doctors say about the neck and we’ll take extreme precaution with that. Hopefully he can get healthy and come back and continue his career.”"
Reese went on to say that Donnell hasn’t been medically cleared to play, but RotoWire staff wrote that his injury doesn’t appear to be career-threatening. Donnell is a restricted free agent who made $585,000 last season who was undrafted in 2012 while Will Tye is an exclusive rights free agent who only made $358,235 in 2015 and also went undrafted. According to NJ.com, the Giants expect Will Tye to be a big piece of the puzzle in 2016.
As for the other tight ends in the mix, Jerome Cunningham was undrafted and is an exclusive rights free agent and my guess is Daniel Fells won’t return after having ten surgeries to treat MRSA on his foot. That means the only tight end currently under contract is undrafted Matt LaCosse.