New York Giants Week 2 Final Injury Report: Thibodeaux, Ojulari Doubtful; Toney Questionable

Kadarius Toney receives a questionable designation, and Wan'Dale Robinson is declared out.

New York Giants rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux expressed optimism on Thursday about his chances of making his NFL debut this weekend when the Giants host the Carolina Panthers. Still, as it turns out, that's far from being a sure thing.

Thibodeaux (knee) is one of two Giants listed as doubtful for Sunday's home opener against the Carolina Panthers, joining fellow edge rusher Azeez Ojulari (calf). On Thursday,

Thibodeaux spoke to reporters and said he was feeling better and increasing his workload a little each day, but at the end of the day, his ability to be out there on the field Sunday would boil down to his pain tolerance.

"Just being able to be safe in uncontrolled circumstances," Thibodeaux said when asked what the final hurdle he had to clear was. "The thing about injuries – it’s one thing when it’s a controlled situation, and you’re just working out, but once you start going against guys, you can’t really control the variables. That’s when you see how strong you really are."

Head coach Brian Daboll was asked what the team needs to see for Thibodeaux to get an improved injury report designation.

"I think that it’s a couple things. One, I think the player has to feel comfortable. I would never want to put a player out there that doesn’t feel like they can do their job at a high level and risk further injury. There’s always a chance of that regardless of if you’re injured or not," he said. 

"Two, just we watch him move around, see how he runs, see how he changes direction, see how he does the things we need him to do for this game. That’s why we try to take it all the way (to the game). To the guys that they may play, they might not play, we try to take it all the way to the end to see if we can give them a chance to play." 

Last week, Thibodeaux and Ojualri were listed as doubtful on the injury report and ended up scratched from the game. They were replaced by Oshane Ximines and Jihad Ward, the latter named defensive MVP in a unanimous vote among the Giants players and coaches.

The Giants will also be without cornerbacks Aaron Robinson (appendectomy), who underwent surgery Monday, and Nick McCloud (hamstring), the latter named the Special Teams player of the game last week.

Daboll has not yet said who will be stepping into the lineup to replace Robinson, but a good possibility is that the Giants will elevate Fabian Moreau from the practice squad to fill the depth.

Meanwhile, receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) has been declared out of Sunday's game. Robinson was injured in last week's game, but he told The Athletic that his injury wasn't considered serious.

And receiver Kadarius Toney (hamstring), who landed on the injury report Thursday, is questionable. Toney appeared to tighten up during last week's game, which may or may not have been a factor in his reduced snaps. He practiced in full Wednesday but then apparently tightened up again Thursday and was limited.

"He practiced, participated in some team periods. But his hamstring tightened up, so that’s why he’s back on the injury report," Daboll said.

"Maybe it’s just a tightened-up hamstring. Maybe it’s a little bit more. But he’s in there, he’s getting treatment, we’ll evaluate it today," the head coach added.

They'll also see if Toney, who has been on the injury report 14 times over his 19-game NFL career, can go Sunday, though, with a hamstring issue, it would not be surprising if they shut him down rather than risk him for the long-term.

The Giants host the Carolina Panthers Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 pm.

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