SI

Jets Running Back Xazavian Valladay Bulldozed a Giants Coach on the Sideline

Valladay plowed through a Giants coach.

Ryan Phillips

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The New York Jets and New York Giants faced off in the final week of the preseason Saturday night, and one of the Giants' coaches may need some ice after this one.

Early in the third quarter, Giants executive director of player performance, Aaron Wellman, was minding his business on the sideline when he was absolutely trucked by Jets running back Xazavian Valladay.

The incident came when the Jets had a third-and-10 from their own 45-yard line with 12:51 remaining in the third. Quarterback Andrew Peasley stepped back and found Valladay on a short pass. The back picked up 14 yards before being pushed out of bounds and ended up crashing into Wellman.

Here are a few angles of the incident.

And more.

Luckily, Wellman looks like he's fine, though I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up wrapped in several bags of ice after the game looking like the post-practice scenes from Rudy.

Wellman was with the Giants as their strength and conditioning coach from 2016 to 2019, before heading to Indiana University as the senior assistant athletic director for football performance from 2020 until 2023. He returned to the Giants this year in his current position.

Here's hoping he keeps his head on a swivel for the rest of the season.

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Ryan Phillips

RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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