Ranking Giants’ Most Impactful Injuries from This Season

The Giants have been banged up this season, and while all injuries hurt the team in some way, these five were perhaps the most impactful.

Oct 28, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants helmets on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Unfortunately, for teams in the NFL, injuries are a way of life that can’t be avoided. Guys will get hurt due to the sport's violent nature, and when that happens, the hope is always that the injuries aren’t long-term or season-ending and that the players can recover quickly.

But again, it doesn’t always work that way, and no team knows this better than the New York Giants, who seem to always be among the league leaders in man-games-lost. 

While every injury “hurts” to a degree, some tend to hurt more than others due to a drop in production or a lack of depth. So here is a look at the Giants' biggest injuries, ranked in reverse order, and their impact on the team.

Jul 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Gunner Olszewski (80) breaks during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

No. 5: Gunner Olszewski, Punt Returner (Groin)

Olszewski, who missed a chunk of training camp, never made it to the start of the regular season. He suffered a groin strain right before the Giants’ Week 1 game against Minnesota, which landed him on IR.

While not a household name or a “major” player like the next two guys on our list, Olszewski's loss has hurt from a punt-return perspective. 

Last season, with him in the lineup, the team finished with an average of 8.9 yards per punt return, Olszewski averaging 11.9 yards per return, and the punt return game ranked 19th in the league. 

This year, without him, the team has averaged 7.3 yards per punt return, with lead returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette averaging 7.6 yards per return, putting the Giants at 30th in the league.  

Again, this might not sound like a big deal compared to other injuries. Still, with a reduction in average punt return yards this year and the defense's lack of takeaways, it’s certainly fair to wonder if the reduction in the average yards per punt return has hurt the team. 

Nov 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano (9) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

No. 4: Graham Gano, Kicker (Hamstring)

When Gano landed on the injury report before the Giants' Week 2 game at Washington and then proceeded to pull a hamstring, which landed him on injured reserve for seven games, that set in motion a wild kicking odyssey for the Giants that one could say set the tone of the season.

If the Giants had a healthy kicker in Week 2, the odds of them pulling out a win in that game would have likely increased, and who knows how the season would have gone from there. 

Instead, they went on a bit of an odyssey in which three kickers–punter Jamie Gillan, Greg Joseph, and Jude McAtamney–all took their turns, Gillan going 0-for-1; Joseph 13-for-16; and McAtamney 1-for-1.

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) warms up before a game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium. / John Jones-Imagn Images

No. 3: Kayvon Thibodeaux, Outside Linebacker (Wrist)

While it’s easy to see that Kayvon Thibodeaux’s pass rush numbers have declined this year, the bigger impact his five-game absence due to a wrist injury had on the team was against the run.

With Thibodeaux setting the edge against the run, the Giants allowed an average of 124.2 yards per game. Without Thibodeaux in the lineup, that average swelled to 178.8 yards per game. 

It’s also worth noting that the three games in which the Giants held opponents to under 100 yards rushing all came with Thibodeaux in the lineup. Again, that might not sound sexy compared to sacks, but Thibodeaux’s mid-year injury-related absence was significant in the grand scheme.

Oct 20, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) celebrates after a sack during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

No. 2: Dexter Lawrence II, Interior Defensive Lineman (elbow)

Let’s get one thing straight: You don’t replace a player of Dexter Lawrence’s caliber in the lineup. 

Before his season-ending elbow injury, Lawrence was on his way to an All-Pro and Pro Bowl season, having racked up a career-high 9.0 sacks.

Despite his injury-related absence from the lineup, Lawrence is still PFF’s second-best run defender and remains tied for seventh among all NFL defenders with his 9.0 sacks. 

Production aside, the Giants miss Lawerence’s leadership. Voted a team captain, Lawrence became sort of the locker room spokesperson after games, and one also got the feeling that he was a very vocal and visible presence behind closed doors in keeping things together, all of which makes his loss a double whammy for a defense that has struggled to find consistency since. 

Aug 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (78) walks off the field following the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

No. 1: Andrew Thomas, Left Tackle (foot)

Andrew Thomas is just as important as anyone on the Giants roster, but in this case, his injury ranks as the biggest one simply due to the lack of depth at the left tackle position behind him.

Remember, the Giants' original plan was to have Thomas and Evan Neal as the tackles and Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor as the guards. If an injury were to happen, Eluemunor would be the swing tackle.

Unfortunately, Neal had a setback in the spring that carried over into the summer. The Giants moved Eluemunor to right tackle and had to sign guard Greg Van Roten to play right guard. 

When Thomas was injured, the Giants tried Joshua Ezeudu at the position without much success before turning to Christopher Hubbard, whom they picked off of waivers and who had mostly been a career right tackle.

These days, the Giants have moved Eluemunor to left tackle, but he was also injured for a few games, which meant the team had to go back to Ezeudu at left tackle after failing to land D.J. Humphries as a free agent. 

While a team can’t plan for injuries, it's painfully obvious that the revolving door at left tackle since Thomas's season-ending injury has played a huge role in the Giants’ demise.  

Final Thoughts

Again, injuries happen, but the key to mitigating their effect is to have enough depth. It seems that year after year, the Giants suffer injuries where they lack quality depth, which contributes to their struggles. 

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