New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys: Inactives & Lineup Changes

The Giants have a lengthy injury list of players who are unable to participate in their Week 12 game against the Dallas Cowboys due to injury.

The New York Giants had no trouble figuring out their Week 12 inactive list. But that's not necessarily a good thing, as the inactive list consists of injured players who didn't make the trip to Dallas.

Here is the Giants' inactive list and what the team is anticipated to be doing to replace their respective presences in the lineup.

TE Daniel Bellinger (eye): Bellinger has been out of action since getting poked in the eye during a Week 7 win over Jacksonville, an injury that resulted in a broken orbital bone and septum. He has made progress in his recovery and is waiting for the last of the double vision he suffered to subside. The Giants signed tight end Lawrence Cager to their roster after using all three standard practice squad elevations on him. Cager took the roster spot that opened when the team placed receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (ACL) on the injured reserve list.

OG Joshua Ezeudu (neck): Ezeudu has been dealing with a neck injury for two weeks. Last week he was removed from the starting lineup in favor of Shane Lemieux, who had been activated off injured reserve that previous week. It's unclear why Ezeudu didn't get the start against the Lions, but the rookie was re-inserted into the lineup when Lemieux struggled. Doing so apparently didn't help Ezeudu's neck, as he was listed as a non-participant in practice all week and didn't make the trip with the team.

OG Shane Lemieux (toe): Lemieux's return from injured reserve didn't go as expected. In addition to being benched, he aggravated his turf toe, the same injury that landed him on injured reserve at the start of the season. Lemieux was replaced after one half by Ezeudu, but with the rookie also inactive for this week and with Ben Bredeson still on injured reserve (knee), the expectation is that Jack Anderson will step in at left guard.

C Jon Feliciano (neck): Feliciano has reportedly been banged up for the better part of the season but has tried to gut things out. Unfortunately for him, this particular injury is one he couldn't gut out. Nick Gates, who has looked solid in his return from a severely fractured broken leg, relieved Feliciano last week when he couldn't go on any longer. Gates will get the start at center, the position he previously held before his gruesome-looking leg injury suffered early in the 2021 season.

CB Adoree' Jackson (knee): Jackson was injured on a punt return--make that an ill-advised punt return. Head coach Brian Daboll defended the decision to deploy Jackson in that role, saying it was best for the team. However, it turned out to be an unnecessary risk given the lack of depth at the position, which was further exposed with the injury to Fabian Moreau (more on that in the next section). With Jackson sidelined for at least four weeks, the Giants will likely plug Nick Mccloud into the lineup.

CB Fabian Moreau (oblique): It's bad enough that the Giants are without Jackson for a while, but to add insult to injury, they're also going to be without Moreau, at least for this week after he suffered an oblique injury. Moreau had been playing well for e the Giants as their other starter after Aaron Robinson went down for the year with a knee injury. With Moreau on the shelf for this week, rookie Cor'Dale Flott will likely step in as the starter, with Rodarius Williams rotating in.

OT Evan Neal (knee/illness): There was a glimmer of hope that the Giants' first-round draft pick might be ready to go this week, but with the short work week and lack of a full practice--the Giants ran two walk-throughs--Neal's return to the lineup will likely come next week at home against the Commanders.

One other lineup change expected for the Giants game at Dallas is that rookie Dane Belton will be replaced in the starting lineup by Jason Pinnock, listed as questionable on this week's report with a jaw injury suffered in last week's loss to the Lions. Belton (clavicle) has also been on the injury report for the last two weeks.

The Giants signed Trenton Thompson from their practice squad Wednesday and elevated Terrell Burgess from the practice squad to provide additional reinforcement in the defensive backfield.

Receiver Richie James (knee) is expected to play this week. James will presumably take on the punt returner duties, which he initially lost to Jackson after losing two fumbles in a Week 8 loss to the Seahawks.

The Cowboys' inactive players are cornerback Kelvin Joseph, quarterback Will Grier, safety Markquese Bell, outside linebacker Anthony Barr, defensive end Tarell Basham, nose tackle Johnathan Hankins, and defensive end Takkarist McKinley.

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