The Giants’ shaky offensive line situation is starting to get worrisome, as it was revealed that projected starting left guard Shane Lemieux has a partially torn patellar tendon in his knee.
While this is certainly a serious injury, Lemieux plans on attempting to play through it without undergoing what would likely be season-ending surgery.
Lemieux initially went down with a knee injury a few weeks back, which the team believed they had dodged a bullet on, diagnosing him with a sprained MCL.
And although Lemieux was seen back at practice for the Giants’ walk through on Tuesday, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reported that he is dealing with a more serious injury.
Giants left guard Shane Lemieux has a partially torn patellar tendon, per sources. Lemieux has missed two stretches of practices during camp. He participated in today’s walk-through and the plan is for him to try to play through the injury without surgery.
The Giants, who are extremely thin on interior offensive linemen, recently swung two trades to bring in depth at this position.
However, they can ill-afford to lose what was supposed to be their starting left guard this season in Lemieux. But with an injury like that, it is hard to count on the second-year 2020 fifth-round draft pick out of Oregon holding up across a full 17-game season.
Despite the report of Lemieux’s patellar tear, head coach Joe Judge was still optimistic about his guard’s status moving forward.
“I’d say these next few days will tell a lot,” Judge told reporters yesterday. “He’s been trending the right direction, he’s had some good work. Obviously, we kept him behind when we went to New England to work with the trainers. That was a positive week for him. [Wednesday] and Thursday will kind of be big tells for us in terms of going in that Week 1, maybe what we can expect to see.”
While the Giants were originally hopeful that Lemieux could be ready by Week 1, his availability this season appears to be in doubt, as a patellar tear is a serious issue.
Letting go of Zeitler
After the injury to Lemieux, the Giants’ poor offensive line play has been on full display this summer. This makes letting go of Kevin Zeitler look like an even bigger mistake than initially anticipated.
Not only was Zeitler the best member of their line, but now the Giants may not even have a starting level player, as his replacement if Lemieux misses the season.
It was a questionable decision when the Giants released Zeitler, citing salary cap issues. And it was even more of a head scratcher when they went out and splurged on skill players such as Kenny Golladay and Kyle Rudolph, without making any significant improvements to their offensive line.
If anything, it was a complete injustice to their franchise quarterback Daniel Jones, who still hasn’t gotten the proper protection, heading into year-3.
Jones
Speaking of Jones, if the Giants are hoping that the 2021 season can provide them with clarity, regarding whether he is their quarterback of the future or not, they did not do the best job of giving him the right tools.
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s system is a conservative style, which leans on short-intermediate routes in the passing game. This often comes back to bite the team, as they throw in front of the sticks in third-down situations.
Not to mention, Jones was seen running for his life again in Sunday’s preseason finale against the Patriots, which affects his play on the field. And while he went 17-for-22 with 135 yards and a touchdown, Jones threw a crippling interception in the end zone, which took points off the board for the Giants in the first half.
These types of mistakes are ones that Jones must eliminate in his third season. However, it is hard to do so when he is not getting enough time to throw, leaving him to try to do too much on his own end.
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Giants’ Projected Starting Offensive Lineman has Torn Patellar Tendon