The New York Giants’ 3-1 NFC East-leading start has come with a pretty annoying catch: Apparently, they aren’t allowed to leave a game without adding someone else to the injury report.
Brian Burns’ torn ACL was the big one, ending the star pass rusher’s season just three weeks in. Braxton Berrios is also headed to IR with a foot injury. Jaxson Dart won’t play again this year, and now Chauncey Golston could join them in the extended-absence club after suffering a neck injury in Sunday’s 36-24 Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Golston’s injury “could be” long-term, with the 28-year-old seeking a second opinion after missing Wednesday’s practice. If the news isn’t good, Big Blue would be down to Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Jihad Ward off the edge, which feels less than ideal for a defense sitting in the basement with an NFL-low three sacks through four games.
Even with all the injuries, giving up now makes zero sense. They’ve already reportedly been in trade talks for Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and former Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. before Pittsburgh sent him to Dallas. But with the pass rush struggling and injuries continuing to pile up, looking into some front-seven help makes a whole lot of sense.
Here are a few names worth keeping an eye on.
Chauncey Golston injury could send Giants shopping for reinforcements
Joshua Uche feels like the easiest place to start. The Miami Dolphins are winless; he’s playing on a cheap expiring deal, and the 27-year-old already has four QB hits and a sack this season. New York wouldn't need him to play a big role. At this point, the Giants will take pass-rush production wherever they can find it, and Uche has at least proven he can provide some.
His 22.5 career sacks also include an 11.5-sack season with New England in 2022, so there’s at least some history of getting home (although we know better than most not to get tricked by one season of production -- Kayvon Thibodeaux). For a Giants team that could use another body without emptying what’s left of its 2027 draft cupboard, Uche feels like a reasonable route.
A’Shawn Robinson would take this in a different direction. Big Blue Nation is already familiar with the 31-year-old defensive lineman, and he’s currently playing some of the best football of his career in Tampa Bay. His value comes primarily against the run, where his 88.8 Pro Football Focus run-defense grade ranks second among 129 qualified space eaters.
New York’s run defense has actually been pretty okay, sitting 16th at 109 yards allowed per game, so Robinson wouldn’t exactly scratch their itch for sacks. But making opposing offenses one-dimensional and forcing them into obvious passing situations wouldn’t exactly hurt a pass rush trying to find itself.
The same logic makes Zaven Collins interesting. Arizona’s former first-rounder has developed into one of football’s better run defenders, carrying a 90.6 PFF run-defense grade through four weeks. At 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, he's got that Golston-tweener-esque frame that gives DC Dennard Wilson another option without being completely useless rushing the passer (13 career sacks).
But if general manager Joe Schoen wants to go for broke, he should probably call the 0-4 Los Angeles Chargers.
Tuli Tuipulotu would probably require the most in return, but he’d also be more than a Golston replacement. The 24-year-old had 13 sacks last season, already has two this year, and owns a 16.7% pass-rush win rate.
With Thibodeaux doing next to nothing this year (zero sacks and a 0% pass-rush win rate) and heading toward free agency when the season wraps, Tuipulotu could solve a growing problem while giving New York a potential long-term answer opposite Carter.
And while Schoen has the Chargers on the phone, asking about Khalil Mack couldn’t hurt. The 35-year-old future Hall of Famer already has three sacks this season and would be the definition of a rental, which should keep the asking price lower than Tuipulotu’s.
The Giants didn’t start 3-1 under Harbaugh to wave the white flag after losing Burns and potentially Golston. But they also don’t have enough draft capital to start throwing picks around recklessly. There’s a middle ground here somewhere, and with three sacks in four games, standing pat isn’t an option.
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