Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux pleased with growth of his game in offseason
Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) participates in training activities at the NFL football team's practice facility, Sunday, July 30, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: AP/John Minchillo
When Kayvon Thibodeaux looks at video of himself from his rookie year, it’s like watching a horror movie.
“Last year’s film kind of disgusts me a little bit when I look at myself,’’ Thibodeaux told reporters Sunday at Giants training camp. “I get a little ‘cringe’ feeling.’’
The second-year edge rusher said he felt as if he could have had more than the four sacks he recorded and didn’t reach the goals he had set for himself, but he noted that the team did well. He believes he gave himself “a platform to continue to grow.’’
Thibodeaux said he worked hard in the offseason and is “excited for what’s to come as far as the growth of my game.’’
Things are definitely “a little bit different’’ in his second training camp, he said. He is focusing on “just really understanding the game.’’
Giants coach Brian Daboll was asked what the 6-5, 258-pound Thibodeaux, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, needs to do to take the next step in his development.
“Just be him,’’ Daboll said. “Take it day by day, get better each day.’’
Asked what he learned in his first year in the NFL, Thibodeaux said he learned that chemistry “is everything.’’
“When you play this game and you’ve got 11 guys out there,’’ he said, “you can’t do it by yourself, so you would say the teams with the most chemistry have the most success. Really being accountable and selfless.
“When I look at this team, I think I’m willing to fight in an alley with any of them,’’ he said. “These are guys who have no quit; these are guys who want to be better.
“It’s a thing to have talent and to be OK with it. It’s a thing to make it to the NFL and cruise through. But when you have a bunch of guys who consistently make it their point and effort to get better and to grow, the sky is the limit.’’
Shepard, Crowder return to practice
WRs Sterling Shepard and Jamison Crowder practiced after Shepard was activated off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and Crowder was activated off the non-football injury (NFI) list . . . TE Ryan Jones and DB Jihad Ward did not practice. Daboll said Jones had “a little knee’’ problem and Ward had “a little bit of something. But it’s not anything long term.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
