There is positive injury news for the Giants.
Though Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram may miss Thursday night’s game, and Sterling Shepard and Wayne Gallman will be out as they deal with concussions, it looks as if Big Blue will get inside linebackers Alec Ogletree and Tae Davis back. Both practiced fully Tuesday after missing each of the last two games.
“Yeah, that’s the goal right now, to go out and play,” Ogletree said. “We’ll see what the coaches say and the trainers and everybody says about it, but as for right now, I was able to practice today and get better today.”
Their absence, combined with the loss of impressive rookie Ryan Connelly to a season-ending knee injury, put the Giants in a difficult situation. It forced them to rely on newcomers David Mayo and Nate Stupar and undrafted rookie Josiah Tauaefa. Getting Ogletree and Davis back should help the run defense, which was gashed for 211 yards by the Vikings on Sunday.
“Obviously, you always feel like you could affect the game if you were out on the field, but I wasn’t able to be out there, so hopefully this week I’m able to go out there and play and have some effect on the game,” said Ogletree, one of seven team captains.
In three starts, quarterback Daniel Jones has been sacked nine times, and it has appeared opposing defensive linemen have gotten a good jump on his snap count. But coach Pat Shurmur doesn’t believe it is a problem, saying they have alternate snap counts.
“Well, we played against some good edge rushers,” he said. “You’d have to ask them. But we certainly have ways to combat that.”
Outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter (neck) was limited in practice on Monday and Tuesday after missing the game against the Vikings.