Kayvon Thibodeaux, Giants dodged a bullet with injury news
Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) drops into coverage against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter of a preseason game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on Sunday, Aug 21, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
It is the great equalizer of pro football, an element that can never be fully controlled no matter how much talent, how much practice or how much planning is involved. With 22 players involved in a collision sport on every single play, there is simply no avoiding it.
Injuries are the irreducible reality of football, and there is simply no avoiding them. Physical fitness goes only so far, and luck often is the only thing left to rely on.
In the Giants’ case, they appear to have landed on the side of good fortune with first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux.
He went down in a heap during Sunday night’s preseason win over the Bengals as Cincinnati tight end Thaddeus Moss went low in an effort to block the former Oregon star pass rusher. Thibodeaux clutched his right knee, silencing the crowd. Giants fans held their collective breath while he writhed in pain.
The first hint that he’d dodged a full-blown preseason calamity came when a cart approached him to take him off the field and he waved it away, walking on his own to the sideline. But as we’ve seen in these cases before, even season-ending knee injuries don’t always take away the ability to walk off the field.
The second hint came after Thibodeaux was examined by the Giants’ medical staff in the injury tent. He emerged with a smile and seemed relieved as he spoke to teammates before going to the locker room. He told reporters “I’m good” in the locker room before exiting the building.
And then the good news — or at least the “not terrible” news — was delivered on Monday: Thibodeaux has a sprained medial collateral ligament.
That usually involves a three-to-four-week healing process, and surgery is not required. Coach Brian Daboll sounded even more optimistic than that, telling reporters Monday that Thibodeaux is “day-to-day.”
The sigh of relief was palpable for a team that has had more than its share of injury woes in recent years. And for a player the Giants hope someday will be added to the team’s list of all-time great pass rushers, it is welcome news indeed.
While it is far too early to presume or predict that Thibodeaux someday will be in the same conversation as Michael Strahan or Lawrence Taylor — sorry, we don’t put anyone in a class with them until after years of productivity — it has been instructive to see him excel in practice and in his limited preseason work.
There is a burst from Thibodeaux, a first step that makes you at least consider the possibilities. He’s got that speed and quickness the great ones have, and while his NFL career remains in its infancy, it is at least fair to look at what is about to unfold with a sense of optimism.
The question is how guarded that optimism ought to be, given how difficult it is to become a star in this league. No, he will not become the next LT, because there is no next LT. He is in a category all his own, and it feels impossible to think there will be someone who approaches the raw talent and productivity of the greatest defensive player in NFL history.
But good health is nearly as important as a great outside move or a power rush, and Thibodeaux will need good luck where that’s concerned. He missed much of the offseason because of a hip injury and now he’ll miss at least some time with the knee problem. There’s no way of knowing whether this is a trend, but the hope is that Thibodeaux can withstand the punishment at the highest level of the game.
And that includes hits like the one he incurred against Moss. Though there was an outcry that the low block was dirty, the fact is it was completely legal, and Thibodeaux and every other defensive player must deal with it.
“That’s the rules,” Daboll said. “We do it as well with tight ends and fullbacks going back to the line of scrimmage. Got to do a job of playing it. It’s a tough block. But whatever the rules are, those are the rules.”
And that is the reality for Thibodeaux.
He avoided serious injury this time, and the Giants will eagerly await his return and hope he overcomes the uncertain, unpredictable and random world of football injuries to become the dominant player they so desperately need.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
