New York Giants Week 17 Inactive Report and Projected Lineup Changes

Receiver Golden Tate gave it a go, but barring the Giants hitting the playoffs and Tate recovering from a calf injury, he might very well have played his last down as a Giant. Plus a look at the rest of the Giants' Week 17 inactive list and projected lineup changes.

Giants wide receiver Golden Tate, listed as doubtful on Friday's injury report, is inactive this week for the Giants' regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.

Tate injured his calf in practice two weeks ago and ended up missing last week's game against the Ravens.

Although head coach Joe Judge said Wednesday that Tate "has been encouraging" and was "further ahead than we thought it be," Tate's movement obviously wasn't enough to convince the medics that he could make it for this game.

Tate finished the 2020 season having played in 12 games with four starts. He caught 35 out of 52 pass targets for 388 yards and two touchdowns, the yardage total being the third-lowest in his career. Tate, it is anticipated, will be a salary cap cut this coming off-season.

Kicker/punter Ryan Santoso, whom the Giants designated as their standard practice squad elevation, is also inactive. The elevation of Santoso on Saturday was a surprise, but it had nothing to do with the statuses of kicker Graham Gano or punter Riley Dixon.

Santoso will revert to the practice squad after the game, and if the Giants are eliminated from the playoff hunt, his contract will expire this week. The Giants will have the option of offering him a reserve/futures contract for 2021, which, as the Top 51 salary cap rule kicks in, likely will not count against the team's top 51 highest salaries.

The rest of the Giants inactive list contains the familiar names, including offensive tackle Jackson Barton, offensive lineman Ryan Murphy, defensive lineman R.J. McIntosh, and defensive back Madre Harper.

Rookie linebacker TJ Brunson is active for the first time since Week 16. He'll presumably contribute on special teams.

Also active is outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell, who was activated from injured reserve Saturday. The Giants are hoping Fackrell gives a boost to their sagging pass rush.

The Giants are also believed to be planning to deploy Julian Love more at outside cornerback instead of Isaac Yiadom. 

Yiadom has struggled, particularly in zone coverage which was never a strong suit of his. He's allowed six of 10 pass targets to be completed for 82 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games and has zero pass breakups. The last time Yiadom broke up a pass breakup was back in Week 13.

With Eli Penny (undisclosed illness) on injured reserve, rookie Shane Lemieux will likely line up on some plays that utilize the fullback. Lemieux has worked from the backfield before in this season. The Giants have also used tight end Kaden Smith from the backfield in some packages.

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Here is the Cowboys list of inactive players for today's game.

#COWBOYS INACTIVES:
QB Ben DiNucci
CB Rashard Robinson
RB Sewo Olonilua
OLB Leighton Vander Esch
DE Bradlee Anae
G Zack Martin

— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) January 3, 2021