Injuries continue to pile up for the NY Giants and it's not ideal for head man Brian Daboll. Heading into the new campaign, the Giants defense is absolutely stacked, highlighted by Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns up front.
While the team's top pass-rushers are ready to make a ton of noise, there's a bit of a concern about the guys lining up behind them. For the inside linebackers, Bobby Okereke is a freak of nature, but who his running mate for Week 1 will be is a bit unknown. In the preseason loss to the Texans, Micah McFadden was carted off with a hip injury.
Things have been radio silent in terms of an update, which is not ideal. With the season-opener against the Vikings less than three weeks away, you're not alone if you're getting anxious about McFadden potentially not being available.
UPDATE: ESPN's Jordan Raanan has reported that McFadden has avoided a serious injury, but that he's going to miss some time. He has a 'chance' to play against the Vikings, but his status for that game indeed is very much up in the air.
Starting LB Micah McFadden avoided serious injury after leaving Saturday’s game in Houston on a cart. He could miss some time with a groin injury but has a chance to be ready for Week 1. #giants
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 20, 2024
Micah McFadden's injury should have the Giants concerned
McFadden went down with an injury late in the first quarter against the Texans after tackling running back Dameon Pierce for a short gain. He remained down on the field for Big Blue and he was clearly in a ton of discomfort. The third-year linebacker for the Giants took a step forward last season, displaying fantastic chemistry with Okereke - a major positive for NY.
The problem here, though, is that New York's linebacker core is quite thin. Fellow linebacker Dyontae Johnson suffered an ankle injury in the preseason opener and he's been out of action since. Johnson, who the Giants signed as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo, looked like a stud vs. Detroit, but now he's battling some injury adversity.
The good news for Daboll is that Okereke is fully healthy and he's in for another monster year for the team. However, the problem here is that no one knows exactly when McFadden and Johnson will be able to get back on the practice field. The hope is that they'll be good to go to face Minnesota, but who knows if that will be the case or not.