New York Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who is in the midst of an All-Pro season, left Thursday’s 27-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the second half and did not return.
Lawrence met with reporters in the postgame locker room while wearing a sling, revealing that he had a dislocated elbow.
“Popped elbow,” he said.
Lawrence said he looked down at his misshapen arm after making a tackle and remarked to linebacker Bobby Okereke about what shock is like. He then ran off to the sideline and popped it back in.
“I overextended, and Bobby came crashing down and it popped out of place,” Lawrence said, via the New York Post. “I looked at him and said, ‘You just popped my elbow out of place.’ And then I thought, ‘I wonder if this is what shock feels like.'”
An injury to Lawrence is the last thing New York needed, especially when it was caused by friendly fire. But Sexy Dexy is determined to avoid season-ending injured reserve (IR), insisting he’ll play through the pain when he’s capable of it.
“I’ll be hurt,” he said. “Because I love going out there and fighting with my guys each and every week. That’s what brings me joy, and I hate not being able to be out there.”
It’s difficult to envision the Giants allowing that to happen considering their season is entirely lost at 2-10 with just five games remaining. So what started as an all-time year will end in pain and heartbreak for Lawrence.
In addition to Lawrence, defensive tackles D.J. Davidson (shoulder) and Rakeem Nunez-Roches (stinger) left the game injured.
Although he remained in the game until the bitter end, Okereke was also spotted on a cart headed for X-rays following the NFC East loss. There has been no update on those results as of Friday morning.
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