The Giants’ three-headed pass rush will have to attack quarterbacks without one of its key pieces for the next month at least.
GM Joe Schoen placed Kayvon Thibodeaux on injured reserve ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a wrist injury sustained in the previous week’s win at Seattle.
Thibodeaux, 23, Schoen’s No. 5 overall pick in 2022, underwent surgery to repair a fractured scaphoid bone in his wrist on Wednesday.
Going on injured reserve rules out Thibodeaux at least through the Giants’ Week 8 Monday Night Football road trip to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 28.
It’s possible he could return wearing a brace on Nov. 3 for the Giants’ Week 9 rematch with the division rival Washington Commanders or for the team’s Week 10 international game against the Carolina Panthers in Munich, Germany, on Nov. 10.
If he’s not ready then, the Giants have a Week 11 bye, so that would no doubt give Thibodeaux a solid runway to get back on Nov. 24 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the latest.
“It’s the NFL,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “Next guy up mentality. Every team faces it. That’s why you have 53 guys and you don’t have 22. Those guys got to step up if they’re called upon, whoever it is. That’s why they’re here and [we] coach them all the same. Hopefully when they get their opportunities, they take advantage of them.”
Thibodeaux is one of three first-round draft picks on the Giants’ starting defensive line, including big-money edge Brian Burns (16th overall, 2019, Panthers) and star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (17th overall, 2019, Giants).
Bowen’s defense is at its best when Lawrence, Burns and Thibodeaux are applying enough pressure that Bowen can drop coverage behind and surprise the quarterbacks with blitzes from safety Jason Pinnock or a slot corner.
Lawrence led them with six sacks entering the Cincinnati game, with Pinnock at three on the season and Burns, Thibodeaux and tackle D.J. Davidson all with two.
Azeez Ojulari (10 tackles, one sack) was set to replace Thibodeaux in Sunday night’s starting lineup, with Boogie Basham activated to provide depth support.
“He’s been good,” Bowen said of Ojulari during the week. “He’s continued to attack, [shown] the attacking demeanor on the edge, [in the] run game, pass game, making sure we’re getting off the ball. He’s got good length. I think he utilizes his length really well. Just continue to improve and make sure he takes advantage of his opportunities when they’re there.”
The edge rusher position wasn’t the most urgent gap in the Giants’ lineup in Week 6, though. The punter position was a far bigger concern with starter Jamie Gillan sidelined by a left hamstring injury.
The Giants don’t want a repeat of their Week 2 fiasco in Washington, when injured kicker Graham Gano pushed through an injury with no backup plan, and it cost them valuable points in a loss.
So Schoen signed journeyman veteran Matt Haack after a Friday workout to punt Sunday night in replace of the inactive Gillan against the Bengals.
Gillan’s injury is believed to be more soreness than anything severe, but the punter and the Giants erred on the side of caution here to try to make sure they didn’t make it worse and lose Gillan for an extended period of time.
That same prudence led coach Brian Daboll to hold out running back Devin Singletary (groin) for a second straight week, giving way to rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. for a second consecutive start in the backfield behind Daniel Jones.
