The New York Giants had a hearts-in-their-throats moment in their Sunday night preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals when Bengals tight end (and son of Randy Moss) Thaddeus Moss crossed the formation and executed a low block on first-round edge-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. The rookie was helped off the field by Giants personnel and returned to the sideline in good spirits. Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, initial reports indicate that Thibodeaux’s injury is not thought to be as serious as it looked.
Here’s how it looked.
#Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux was injured on this play.
We will update you as we learn more about the injury. pic.twitter.com/1ll2mfetBs
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 22, 2022
Moss looked to go for Thibodeaux’s ankle, which had a lot of people thinking that this should have been a penalty.
“They dragged the tight end across the formation, and everybody runs this play,” former offensive lineman Brian Baldinger said on the NFL Network. “They seal the backside with the tight end, and almost every tight end goes low. They can’t stay up and take on these defensive ends. They go to cut-block, which is legal, okay? It’s really up to Kayvon here to just drop his shoulder on it, and it went below his shoulder. It’s kind up to Kayvon to protect himself a little better, because that’s how these tight ends are going to block him in this league.”
Former cornerback DeAngelo Hall, on the NFL Network set with Baldinger and Colleen Wolfe, agreed.
“Absolutely, Baldy. That’s one of those sift-back blocks, and… in the NFL, we see it a lot. Maybe in the college game, you don’t see it as much. So, fr Kayvon Thibodeaux, these are some of those reps we talk about. It just gives him that game-time experience. He either has to get lower, or you see those defensive linemen give a little ground with their hands, and push away. That’s going to be a coaching moment for him.”
Other blocking experts agreed — Moss wasn’t trying to be dirty; he blocked the way he had been instructed to.
It’s not dirty. KT was bracing for contact up high because he recognized the play and had his feet stopped. https://t.co/nTNn43A1vh
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) August 22, 2022
Typically you don’t wanna cut at the POA or LOS. Also offensive players are generally taught if defender is a runner be a cutter, if he’s a sitter, be a hitter. https://t.co/uj0BEne7m2
— Duke Manyweather (@BigDuke50) August 22, 2022
I went an double checked. still a legal block below the waste by current NFL rules. It's a tool in his belt. just an unfortunate play that thankfully didn't have a catastrophic result. we don't have to turn the TE into the Joker tho
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) August 22, 2022
So, while it looked really bad, and we certainly hope Thibodeaux will be 100%, Moss did nothing wrong by the letter of the rules, and it’s Thibodeaux who will undoubtedly learn from this.