Top Giants receiver Malik Nabers (concussion) returned to limited practice participation Wednesday in a non-contact jersey.
That was the good news.
The bad news was that top defensive playmakers Dexter Lawrence (hip) and Brian Burns (groin) both sat out.
And while Brian Daboll said he was “optimistic” about Nabers, the head coach said he did not want to speculate whether Lawrence or Burns would practice on Thursday, either.
This was an unwelcome development coming off Wednesday morning’s devastating news that franchise left tackle Andrew Thomas had undergone season-ending surgery for a Lisfranc injury in his foot.
A healthy Lawrence would be the primary reason why the Giants (2-4) have a chance to beat the sloppy Eagles (3-2) on Sunday even without Thomas.
Longtime Eagles standout Jason Kelce was the one center that Lawrence never found a way to dominate or win against consistently, but Kelce retired this offseason. Philly’s interior of Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens and Mekhi Becton, left to right, is good but not without flaws.
And the Eagles won’t have starting left tackle Jordan Mailata for some time due to a hamstring injury.
Lawrence has an ability to wreck plays and games. And even when he isn’t making constant stops, he is commanding constant double teams that frees up opportunities for the edge rushers.
That’s exactly what happened in Sunday night’s loss to Cincinnati: Lawrence saw tons of double teams, and Burns and Azeez Ojulari both had monster games. Kayvon Thibodeaux is out at least another three weeks after having surgery on his right wrist.
Burns had success rushing more from the right side of the defense over the left tackle against the Bengals, in Thibodeaux’s first game out, than Burns had in previous weeks.
He lined up on the left side of the defense 185 times in Weeks 1 through 5 compared to only 68 times on the right, according to Pro Football Focus. But against Cincy, Burns lined up on the right side 36 times compared to just four on the left.
He took advantage of Cincinnati left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in that matchup, and he might be able to do the same against backup Eagles left tackle Fred Johnson. Only if he’s healthy, though.
The annual injury bug is again running through the Giants. And Sunday will reveal just how severely it will impact their season.
