The New York Giants are finally back in business, and the buildup to Week 1 is hitting full throttle. Russell Wilson will take the first official snap of the 2025 season under center. The pass rush looks elite. And head coach Brian Daboll — clearly coaching for his job — has a revamped locker room that actually believes this season won’t be a total waste of time.
That belief gets its first real test Sunday in Landover, MD against the Commanders, who swept the Giants last year and quietly reloaded with just enough veteran firepower to stay dangerous. Jayden Daniels isn’t just some rookie anymore. He really never was. This team made the NFC Championship last year. So if the G-Men are looking to crash their party early, they'll need all the help they can get.
Related: Andrew Thomas injury update just flipped the script on Giants’ Week 1 outlook
They’ll need to hit the ground running in every phase — offense, defense, and protection — especially if the guy protecting Wilson’s blindside isn’t at full speed. Because as of Wednesday, there’s one name on the injury report: Andrew Thomas.
Giants' first injury report vs Commanders in Week 1 sparks cautious optimism
For Giants fans looking for a lengthy list, they won't find one here. It looks like any lingering Malik Nabers stuff has been resolved. As has whatever mystery injury scare Theo Johnson may or may not have been dealing with.
The Giants released their initial injury report on Wednesday, and Thomas’ name was the only one on the list. Here’s what we know so far:
Limited:
LT Andrew Thomas (foot)
That’s it. That’s the list. The best player on the team. The only one listed.
The first official #Giants injury report of the season is pretty clean, with only LT Andrew Thomas (lisfranc) limited in Wednesday's practice. pic.twitter.com/lJdKoUgiNC
— Madelyn Burke (@MadelynBurke) September 3, 2025
I won't pretend like this wasn’t a total surprise. Thomas had been slowly ramping up through camp and preseason after last year’s Lisfranc surgery, and the team has been overly cautious. He’s practiced. He’s moving well. But the foot injury is still lingering just enough to keep his Week 1 status uncertain. Dabs told reporters that everyone would be on the field at practice on Wednesday and that Thomas is “improving daily.” In Daboll-speak, that’s a rave review.
Whether he’s fully good to go or not is a massive storyline. If he plays, it’s a huge stabilizer for an offensive line that absolutely needs stability. If he doesn’t, veteran James Hudson will likely be in at left tackle — which shouldn't be the end of the world, considering that's kind of exactly why they signed him this offseason, but it’s definitely not ideal for a guy like Wilson who needs a clean pocket to get comfortable.
Washington’s edge rush isn’t what it once was. Dorance Armstrong and Deatrich Wise Jr. don’t bring the kind of speed that’ll panic Thomas or Hudson. But this is still a divisional game. The margin for error is microscopic.
With everyone else all gas, no breaks, the G-Men have as good a shot as any to land their first win of the season, and what a victory that would be. With Thomas even ramping up, there's reason for cautious optimism that the tide might be turning for Big Blue.