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The New York Giants are getting hit hard by the reality of COVID-19 this week.
They started their bye week by placing potential Pro Bowl placekicker Graham Gano on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, where he was joined by two other special teams players, punter Riley Dixon and long snapper Casey Kreiter on Wednesday. Dixon and Kreiter were placed on the list as close contacts.
They ended the week by adding three more players – tight end Kaden Smith, offensive tackle Matt Peart and wide receiver/returner Dante Pettis, all of which tested positive Thursday night.
The Giants’ next game isn’t until next Sunday, November 29, when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. Head coach Joe Judge isn’t sure if Gano or any of the players on the list will be available by that time.
“There’s a timetable with that,” Judge said this week. “There’s an opportunity for that, but there are some other things that go into that as well. Are there any setbacks in that time window? When does the physician clear him? There’s a ramp up period. Him, like everybody else, we have to be fair to this guy. He’s sitting in a hotel room for a couple weeks. Is it fair to him to put him on the field and ask him to go ahead and do his job? These are all things we have to account for. In fantasy football, yeah, plug him in and we’re good to go. In reality, are we doing the fair thing by him individually and the team collectively to take someone who hasn’t had two weeks of an opportunity to prepare to put him out there to do a job?”
Left guard Will Hernandez was reactivated off the COVID-19 list last week but the team did not start him, citing that they wanted to take things slowly with him. He got into the game, but only after Kevin Zeitler was forced out with a concussion.
“It was definitely a different experience, one I had never really experienced before,” Hernandez said. “It was weird. But just like everything else, we got through it and I feel great now. I’m good. I’m ready to roll…I went through the standard sickness and all that. At the end of the day, I just kind of got over it and I feel good as new.”
Even though the Giants decided to bench Hernandez, he was ready when his number was called.
“What I saw when he went in the game is a guy who was ready,” Judge said. “I saw when Will went in there, he was mentally, physically and emotionally ready to go. Obviously, two weeks off from a game, it’s a lot to ask anyone to jump right back in the swing of things and go through an entire game. When we needed him, he came through. He played well, he played tough. That’s just kind of Will’s personality. Coming out at the end of the game right there. He kind of goes in as the enforcer when we needed him right there. I was pleased to see Will at the game. It’s good to have him back in the building. He’s always a dude that makes everyone smile when he’s around. It’s just good to have him back with us.”
Now, we will wait to see if the others can bounce back in the same fashion.
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