Giants will have entire roster available in Week 1 vs. Vikings

The New York Giants do not have a single designation on their final injury report and will have the entire roster available for Week 1.

The New York Giants open the 2024 regular season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

Following a summer littered with injuries — several to key players — the Giants will enter Week 1 relatively healthy and with the entirety of their roster available.

“Nope,” head coach Brian Daboll said on Friday when asked if he’d rule anyone out.

Safety Dane Belton (back), linebacker Brian Burns (ankle), quarterback Drew Lock (abdomen), linebacker Micah McFadden (groin), and wide receiver Gunner Olszewski (groin) were limited in Friday’s practice.

Full injury reports for both the Giants and Vikings can be found below:

Luke Hales/Getty Images

New York Giants

Out: None

Doubtful: None

Questionable: None

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Vikings

Out: None

Doubtful: None

Questionable: None

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Giants injury report: Drew Lock among 4 projected limited participants

New York Giants players were off on Thursday, so the injury report was projected and remained the same with Drew Lock and 3 others limited.

The New York Giants were off on Thursday after conducting a walkthrough on Monday, a fully padded practice on Tuesday, and a normal practice session on Wednesday.

They will return to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Friday for one final practice ahead of their Week 1 opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

It’s a quirk in the schedule due to the off week between the preseason and the regular season. Beginning next week, it’s likely that team meetings will be held on Monday with the players being given off on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the injury report for Thursday was projected due to players being away from the facility and resting.

The Giants’ full Thursday (projected) injury report, which did not change from a day prior, can be found below:

Did not participate: N/A

Limited participant: QB Drew Lock (abdomen), LB Micah McFadden (groin), S Dane Belton (back), WR Gunner Olszewski (groin)

Full participant: N/A

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Giants injury report: Drew Lock among four limited in practice

New York Giants QB Drew Lock (hip) was among four players who were limited during Wednesday’s practice in East Rutherford.

The New York Giants took the field for their second full practice of the regular season on Wednesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the first official injury report of 2024 was released.

Despite being littered with injuries throughout training camp and the preseason, every single member of the Giants’ 53-man roster and practice squad was on the field participating on at least a limited basis.

Head coach Brian Daboll did reveal one new name being added to the injury report: Safet Dane Belton, who is nursing a sore back.

Meanwhile, quarterback Drew Lock is still dealing with a hip injury suffered during a Week 1 preseason victory over the Detroit Lions.

The Giants’ full Wednesday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: N/A

Limited participant: QB Drew Lock (abdomen), LB Micah McFadden (groin), S Dane Belton (back), WR Gunner Olszewski (groin)

Full participant: N/A

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Report: Giants’ Micah McFadden avoided serious injury

New York Giants inside linebacker Micah McFadden (groin) avoided serious injury and should be ready for the regular season.

The New York Giants got some good news on starting inside linebacker Micah McFadden, who left last Saturday’s game in Houston with a groin injury.

McFadden should be ready for the start of the regular season when the Giants host the Minnesota Vikings on September 8.

McFadden left the field on a cart in the first half after making a stop on Texans running back Dameon Pierce. It was initially thought to be a hip injury but after examination, the medical staff is calling it a groin.

McFadden is scheduled to start at inside linebacker next to Bobby Okereke this season. The 2022 fifth-round pick out of Indiana has played his way into the lineup after a strong 2023 campaign where he registered 101 tackles (63 solo, 12 for a loss) with six QB hits and five passes defensed (one INT) and four fumble recoveries.

With McFadden out, rookie Darius Muasau was the next man up with Dyontae Johnson and Carter Coughlin not dressed due to injury. Matthew Adams, Darrian Beavers, and K.J. Cloyd also saw reps at inside backer against Houston.

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Pro Football Focus thinks highly of Giants’ linebacker unit

Pro Football Focus ranks the New York Giants’ linebackers unit among the NFL’s very best.

Throughout their century-long history, the New York Giants have sported some of the most legendary linebacker units in the NFL. Their eight championship teams had many a Hall of Famer and Ring of Honoree among the linebacker ranks leading the way.

Players such as Sam Huff, Lawrence Taylor, Brad Van Pelt, and Harry Carson became legends chasing quarterbacks and hammering ball carriers over the years.

After a few years of searching for the right mix, Big Blue’s linebacker group is back among the league’s best, says Pro Football Focus, who ranked them fifth overall.

The Giants are solid at their starting linebacker spots. Bobby Okereke’s 78.9 PFF grade ranked 13th at the position in 2023, and Micah McFadden came in at No. 46 in his second season in the league. They also have Isaiah Simmons, who hasn’t lived up to his billing as a top-10 draft pick but was a useful depth player for the team last year, earning an 82.7 PFF coverage grade on 203 snaps.

PFF does not include outside linebackers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari in this piece but both do line up at the linebacker position in the team’s base alignment.

Recently acquired Brian Burns is being listed as a defensive end, but he will fill the role of edge rusher in the 3-4-4 base.

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Giants hire Aaron Wellman: 4 things to know

The New York Giants have hired Aaron Wellman and here are four things to know about the executive director of player performance.

The New York Giants hired Aaron Wellman as their new executive director of player performance on Tuesday.

Wellman replaces Craig Fitzgerald, who was the Giants’ director of strength and performance the past two seasons under head coach Brian Daboll. Fitzgerald recently accepted the same position at the University of Florida.

Here are four quick things to know about Wellman

Giants’ 6 biggest surprises of 2023

The New York Giants’ 2023 season wasn’t all bad. Despite the drama issues, there are six players who surprised us with their performance.

The 2023 NFL season has come to an end for the New York Giants, who finished with an ugly 6-11 record.

There’s already been a ton of upheaval across the league, and the Giants are no exception. Still, as hard as this season was to watch, it wasn’t all bad. There were some high points, including a handful of wins under a third-string quarterback.

That’s not the only highlight of the season. Despite the turmoil in the front office, there are players on both sides of the ball who surprised us with their performance on the field.

Giants 2023 season awards: MVP, Rookie of the Year and more

Giants Wire votes on and hands out 2023 season awards, including MVP and Rookie of the Year, for the New York Giants.

The New York Giants finished the 2023 regular season with a record of 6-11 which was a far cry from their playoff appearance (and single playoff win) a year ago.

Despite the regression, there were quite a few bright spots that deserved recognition.

While the NFL announces its official awards at a later date, we’ll be discussing who deserves the MVP, Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year awards for the Giants in 2023.

Giants’ Micah McFadden still taking things ‘one game at a time’

New York Giants LB Micah McFadden didn’t expect to be 5-9 through 15 weeks but remains committed to the process and focused on the next game.

New York Giants second-year inside linebacker Micah McFadden, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick, has become part of the team’s core and has played his way into the Giants’ future leadership group.

McFadden has started 13 of the team’s 14 games this season and has become a staple on both defense and special teams. He has formed a special bond with linebacker mate Bobbly Okereke, who the Giants added via free agency this year, and has given the team a solid presence at the second level on defense.

McFadden spoke to the media on Monday, a day after the Giants were smothered by the Saints down in New Orleans, 24-6, but were down just 7-6 at the half.

“I think (Sunday) we could’ve done a lot of things better, kind of talked about it on the plane afterwards. But I think we’re kind of finding our role in this defense. Like I said, still a lot of things to improve upon,” he said.

This week, the Giants will head down to Philadelphia to face the teetering Eagles, the team that unceremoniously bounced them from the NFC Playoffs last season by a score of 38-7.

“Whenever you get knocked out of the playoffs like that — obviously, we don’t think about the past too much, kind of focus on what’s ahead of us, but that definitely stung a little bit to get knocked out by a team in your division,” McFadden said.

“Whenever it’s a division opponent, you want to beat them and obviously we play those teams twice. I think it’s going to be a good challenge this week and obviously, they’re a good football team. But like I said earlier, it just comes down to our process, preparing the right way, and practicing well and figuring it all out throughout the week to put it all out on gameday and perform well to get the results we want.”

The Giants are 5-9 and their postseason hopes are all but dashed for this season. McFadden and the entire Giants organization were not expecting this massive step backward after such as successful season in 2022.

“I don’t think anybody in this building thought we’d be where we are at this point,” he said. “But as far as motivation, we’re process-driven here. We stick to what we do each week and that’s just focusing on winning one game at a time.”

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Giants hang on, defeat Patriots, 10-7, in ugly Week 12 affair

It’s better to win ugly than lose pretty, and that’s exactly what the New York Giants did on Sunday, defeating the Patriots, 10-7.

The New York Giants played host to the New England Patriots on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in a matchup between two teams whose seasons have not gone as expected thus far.

On a typical late November weather day in Northern New Jersey, the NFL’s two lowest-scoring teams played as anticipated. The over/under at game time was 33.5. This game went well under that number.

Giants rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito made his first home start while reliable defensive line stalwart Dexter Lawrence (hamstring) missed the first game in his five seasons with Big Blue.