Drew Lock hurting again as Giants' injuries continue to take a toll
Giants quarterback Drew Lock is knocked out of bounds by Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle David Onyemata in the first half of an NFL game in Atlanta on Sunday. Credit: AP/Mike Stewart
For all of the talk of the Giants’ poor play and spiral to the NFL’s worst record, injuries have been just as much a factor as anything.
The latest wave came Monday with quarterback Drew Lock getting an MRI on his right shoulder, coach Brian Daboll said. The injury is still being evaluated, so no decision has been made about who will start at quarterback in Sunday’s home finale against the Colts as the Giants (2-13) try to avoid extending their 10-game losing streak and finishing 0-9 at MetLife Stadium.
“If it’s anything, if it’s not anything, usually guys are sore the next day,” Daboll said. “So we’ll see where he’s at after today.”
Daboll didn’t have an update on linebacker Micah McFadden, who didn’t play in the second half of Sunday’s 34-7 loss at Atlanta.
He said McFadden is dealing with a “burner” and being looked at. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. and center John Michael Schmitz also aggravated previous ankle injuries.
It’s the second time Lock has been evaluated after a start. After the Giants’ Dec. 8 loss to the Saints, he had X-rays that revealed left heel and left elbow issues.
He sat out the next game, with Tommy DeVito starting. Sunday was his return under center and Lock was hit six times, including three sacks.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas suffered a season-ending foot injury in the Giants’ loss to the Bengals on Oct. 13, and that was one of the first dominoes to fall. Two months later, offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. went on injured reserve.
The Giants have started new combinations at left tackle and guard the past five games. Not helping matters was right tackle Evan Neal’s struggles with more reps, including his rough game last Sunday with three penalties and a missed block that led to a pick-6.
“Sometimes you have the should’ve, could’ve, would’ve, but it happened,” Thomas said last week. “At the end of the day, that’s what happened. I can’t do much to change what happened. All I can do is try to prepare for next year, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
DeVito’s forearm injury in the Giants’ Nov. 24 loss to the Buccaneers started a revolving door of sorts at quarterback. DeVito gave way to Lock starting the next two games. He returned on Dec. 15, only to suffer a concussion before halftime, and Tim Boyle finished the loss to the Ravens.
Not surprisingly, the Giants averaged only 11.8 points in the five games.
The biggest blow came on Thanksgiving. Dexter Lawrence, Bobby Okereke, D.J. Davidson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches were injured, and all but Nunez-Roches ended up on IR. Nunez-Roches missed two games before starting Sunday.
Lawrence’s season-ending elbow injury meant undrafted rookie Elijah Chatman and practice squad signee Elijah Garcia got more reps at defensive tackle. Fellow linemen Casey Rogers and Jordon Riley also filled in up front despite little experience.
They did enough to hold the Saints to 14 points in a loss, but in that game, rookie safety Tyler Nubin and cornerback Tre Hawkins III suffered season-ending injuries.
The losses on defense contributed to the last two blowout defeats, as the Giants allowed a combined 69 points. They got little pressure up front in both games, including zero sacks Sunday.
“A lot of people in here probably don’t come from losing organizations or losing ball,” cornerback Adoree’ Jackson said. “[They’ve] always been winners. It’s just a different take, a different feeling. When you’re in a situation like this, the best thing you can do is just play for your brothers.”
The battle with attrition has been costly. With McFadden and Lock among the injured now, the Giants can only hope their luck improves in their final two games.
Daboll is not using it as an excuse, but it’s hard to ignore that the Giants’ struggles the last two months are about who’s unavailable just as much as who is available.
“You focus on the next game,” he said. “You put everything you got into it, just like you do each and every week. And you focus on the task at hand.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
