NY Giants activate three players off the Reserve/COVID-19 List, Kyler Fackrell placed on IR

The NY Giants are getting back two key contributors this week along with a newcomer for Big Blue. Kyler Fackrell will miss at least the next three games.

The NY Giants are getting back more reinforcements for their end of the season playoff run, but losing a key contributor on defense.

The team announced today that they activated Kaden Smith, Matt Peart, and Dante Pettis off the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Smith and Peart are both welcoming sights for New York as they look to continue their success and impact in the run game. Both Kaden and Peart are integral parts of the team’s blocking schemes and overall gameplan. While not starters, both players rotate in significantly during each game and that should continue immediately this week. Cameron Fleming had his fair share of struggles Sunday with three penalties, including one key holding call on the Giants’ last drive to put the game away.

Wide receiver Dante Pettis will look to make his debut as a Giant, maybe as early as this Sunday. He was one of the most dynamic and accomplished returners in college football history at the University of Washington and hopefully can provide a spark for the Giants’ special teams this week. At worst, Pettis provides another option at receiver and returner and upgrades the receiving corps’ speed and the presence of another veteran in the mix.

To make room for the three returning players, the NY Giants placed linebacker Kyler Fackrell on the short-term IR. This means he’ll miss at least the next three games with a chance to come back for the team’s final two games. Fackrell left Sunday’s game with a calf injury in the team’s win over Cincinnati. They also released Montre Hartage and Ryan Santoso off the team’s active roster.

Fackrell going on the IR leaves Big Blue dangerously thin off the edge and at outside linebacker.

The team entered the season with Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, Markus Golden, and Fackrell leading the way. Now, the group has completely revamped and gone through a major midseason overhaul at the outside linebacker position. Golden was traded back to his former team in Arizona and Fackrell will join Carter and Ximines who are both dealing with season-ending injuries of their own.

Leading the way is a group of fresh faces, led by Jabaal Sheard, Carter Coughlin, Cam Brown, Trent Harris, and the newcomer, Niko Lalos. Sheard, Brown, and Lalos all made their impact felt  Sunday, stepping up with some of the NY Giants’ key plays from their win. Jabaal Sheard forced the game-winning fumble, Cam Brown made a game-saving tackle on the Bengals’ long put return to potentially win the game, and Lalos came up with an impressive interception in his NFL debut.

These linebackers will need to make a similar impact if they want to pull off the upset this Sunday in Seattle. The NY Giants enter this game as 9.5 point underdogs per FanDuel and will need as many big plays from their defense to keep the game close.