Getty Giants head coach Joe Judge (pictured) gives an updated on injured center/guard Nick Gates.
The New York Giants will likely be down a useful numbers of starters Sunday when they travel to Miami to meet the Dolphins, and that is to say nothing of how injury continues to ravage the rest of the depth chart.
The team released its official injury report on Friday, December 3, and the news is about as grim as it’s been all season. Quarterback Daniel Jones is out with strained neck, though Giants head coach Joe Judge has refused to get more specific than that.
“At this point, he has not been cleared for contact, so we’re going to go ahead and hold him out of this game,” Judge told the media Friday. “We don’t feel 100% comfortable with him until the medical team clears him fully so as of right now, we’ll rule him out. We’ll evaluate him for the future, including as soon as next week. … We don’t have any any answers on the immediate future yet, but his status for this week we’ll be he’ll be out.”
“I’m not going to go into any specifics about the injury,” continued Judge, adding that he does not believe the injury to be season-ending, but offering nothing further.
Backup quarterback Mike Glennon will get the nod in Jones’ place.
Backup QB Likely Missing 2 Starting Wide Receivers
GettySterling Shepard, of the New York Giants, scores on a 23-yard rushing touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys.
Glennon will assume the helm on the road and against a confident Dolphins team that has reeled off three wins in a row against the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. To make things more difficult, he will likely be down two of his top targets, with a third contributor in question.
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney is doubtful for the second consecutive week with an oblique/quad injury, while wideout Sterling Shepard shares the same status due to a quad issue of his own. Tight end Kyle Rudolph is also questionable with an ankle injury.
Backup tight end Kaden Smith has been ruled out with a knee problem. Fullback Cullen Gillaspia is questionable with a calf issue and wide receiver John Ross is questionable with an illness.
On the other side of the ball, starting defensive back Adoree’ Jackson will sit due to a quad, while reserve linebacker Trent Harris has been sidelined by an ankle injury.
Giants Send TE, LB to Injured Reserve List
GettyKaden Smith, of the New York Giants
The news is worse for TE Smith (knee) and OLB Trent Harris (ankle), as both have been designated for the injured reserve list (IR), which means at least three weeks on the shelf.
Neither is a tremendous loss to the Giants in and of themselves, but the cumulative toll injuries are taking on the team will be felt across the roster Sunday. Smith is the third TE listed on the depth chart, while one spot ahead of him Rudolph will play with an ankle issue. Should anything befall starter Evan Engram Sunday, the position will be essentially depleted.
Harris is even further back on the depth chart at his position than Smith is at his, slotting in as New York’s fourth WLB. All three players ahead of him are healthy, including starter Lorenzo Carter. But five other linebackers on the roster are already on the IR, as the Giants’ top replacements at the position continue to grow thin.
As the list of backups grows smaller, the list of meaningful Giants players on the IR swells. Zack Rosenblatt, of the Newark Star-Ledger and NJ.com, posted a list of New York notables currently relegated to injured reserve.
Notable #Giants on injured reserve:
LB Blake Martinez
S Jabrill Peppers
C Nick Gates
G Shane Lemieux
CB Darnay Holmes
TE Kaden Smith
CB Rodarius Williams
S Nate Ebner
LB Carter Coughlin
LB Trent Harris
WR CJ Board
WR Dante Pettis
The tally stands at a dozen, while the Giants stand on the edge of their season. At 4-7, New York occupies fourth place in the NFC East, but the year is far from lost. The Washington Football Team, at second in the division with an overall mark of 5-6, sits just one game up on the Giants and would be the final Wildcard team if the NFC Playoffs started this weekend.
A postseason appearance remains New York’s for the taking with six games left to play. The first step on that journey is Miami but, unfortunately for the Giants, they’ll have to take it sporting a considerable limp.