UPDATE: Ian Rapoport has since reported that Tracy is dealing with a low ankle sprain. He's in a boot and is considered week to week.
Maybe the NY Giants and Brian Daboll aren't cursed after all? Injuries have been piling up for the G-Men in recent practices, with rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. going down with a serious-looking one ahead of the showdown with the Houston Texans.
Tracy was carted off the field and his leg was put in an air cast. Because of that, the worry was that perhaps the fifth-rounder suffered a season-ending ailment. Not so fast there. While speaking on SportsCenter, ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported that the early belief is that Tracy avoided something serious. Not only that, he has already returned to the team facility to take part in team meetings:
As noted on @SportsCenter, there is hope that Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s leg injury is not as bad as it looked. He was put into an air cast and taken off on a cart. Already back in meetings. A sigh of relief.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 13, 2024
The Giants may have avoided a serious injury for rookie RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.
A sigh of relief would be an understatement. Whenever you have someone carted off the field AND with an air cast put on them, you're always going to assume that said player is going to miss significant playing time.
While it's unknown just how much time Tracy will miss, this doesn't appear to be an issue that will end his rookie campaign before it can even get started. The fifth-round pick just made his preseason debut for Big Blue, posting 26 yards on five carries.
Whenever Tracy had the ball in his hands, he impressed with the way he ran the ball. Not only that, but he's expected to make a big-time difference for Daboll on special teams too. He was a solid returner in college and more of the same should be on display now that he's in the pros.
This summer, Tracy has been in an RB2 battle with Eric Gray, who scored two touchdowns in the win over Detroit. With Tracy getting banged up like this, some people, including us, had our eyes on Joe Schoen signing a veteran running back to fill in. Now, though, thanks to Raanan's update, the Giants may not need to spend money on a new RB. We'll wait for more info to get too excited about Tracy, but the early indication is the G-Men dodged a bullet here.