Sunday's matinee against the Cowboys quickly turned into something of a horror flick for the Giants.
First, New York lost running back Saquon Barkley to a freak ankle injury. Then, late in the second quarter, quarterback Daniel Jones exited after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit. Jones was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out during halftime, as was receiver Kenny Golladay, who suffered a knee injury at some point during the first half.
To round things out, rookie wideout Kadarius Toney's monster day (10 receptions, 189 yards) was marred by a lower leg injury, as well as an ejection for throwing a punch at Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee. New York's 44-20 loss added further insult to its injuries.
Golladay is expected to miss Week 6's game against the Rams and maybe another game with a knee injury, Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, but it's looked at as a major relief as the initial fear was it was a major injury.
On Monday, coach Joe Judge addressed the status of his injured players. In regard to Barkley, Judge said his X-rays came back "with better news than it could've been. A little bit of a sigh of relief," .
Judge added that Barkley is still being evaluated, but New York hopes it "dodged a couple of bullets." He also said that Jones is in concussion protocol and that the team will wait patiently and "get the other guys ready." The QB's status will likely be known by the end of the week.
As for Toney, Judge said he doesn't think his injury is "anything significant, in terms of season-ending." Toney echoed Judge's remarks during his media session, saying simply, "I'm good."
With the new injuries further damaging an offense that was already in flux, Toney's importance to the unit increases exponentially, especially with Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton still out due to hamstring injuries. Keeping this in mind, the reckless behavior he displayed against Dallas must be dealt with and eradicated early.
After sharing that he apologized to Judge and his teammates, Toney said he should be held accountable for his actions and assured everyone that the punch was "a one-time thing."
"With little kids looking up to me, it's not an example I want to set," he said before adding, "I'm a rookie, making early mistakes. Just got to learn off it and build off it."
For a team dealing with so many ailments, it would be ideal if Week 5 is the last time the Giants are involved in situations that hurt the team in other ways. We'll see if a week of rehab and film review give them a boost entering their Week 6 clash with the 4-1 Rams.
