Two more Giants added to COVID list; number now at 9
J.R. Reed of the New York Giants reacts after a defensive play late in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Credit: Jim McIsaac
On top of a COVID-19 outbreak, the Giants on Friday said they are dealing with "several" cases of the flu.
What’s next? Oh, yes, the Cowboys on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Which Giants will be able to suit up — and whether the game will be played — will be decided by 1 p.m. on Sunday.
As of Friday afternoon, the game was still on and was expected to be contested in front of a full house.
Two more Giants were placed on the COVID list on Friday: defensive back J.R. Reed and practice squad defensive back Natrell Jamerson. That brings the Giants’ total to nine and leaves them with a severely depleted defensive backfield against the powerful Cowboys.
Also on the COVID list: cornerbacks Aaron Robinson and Adoree’ Jackson, wide receivers Kadarius Toney and John Ross, and linebackers Cam Brown and Oshane Ximines. Coach Joe Judge said it is possible, but not likely, that one or more of those players could be cleared to play on Sunday.
Safety Xavier McKinney is on the list as a close contact and in isolation, but if he continues to test negative, he can be cleared on Saturday and play Sunday. Judge said that could happen because McKinney has been testing negative all week.
The Giants did not hold practice on Friday, instead doing a light walk-through and holding virtual meetings.
"We came in this morning," Judge said. "We had the players that were using our indoor facility, which we’ve set up as a meeting facility since the beginning of this COVID last year — everything’s been approved by the league — [and] we started the day out in the bubble. We started position meetings. As the meetings are starting, we were getting alerts on a couple of new positives that came up today along with several players who came up with flu symptoms. At that time, we [decided] the best thing for the players was to end the meetings. We went immediately outside. We did a brief walk-through. Lasted about a half an hour outside with the players matched up and spaced out . . . when that was done, we sent them home. Then we Zoomed for about an hour and a half."
Judge said he was planning to meet with the defense after his Zoom call with the media to go over the plan for the defensive backfield.
"We’re talking through a lot of moves that can happen defensively and schematically," he said. "Things we have to do to make sure we can adjust. Right now, there’s some things in the air. We’ll know a little bit more [Saturday] in terms of guys like [McKinney] when his five days testing are up and see where he’s at. So we’ll go and make any necessary adjustments we have to do."
As of Friday afternoon, the Cowboys were not having the same issues with COVID or the flu, so the Giants could be at quite a disadvantage on Sunday.
"The Cowboys aren’t going to care about how many DBs we got, or whatever that may be," Logan Ryan said. "I really don’t care. We’ve really got to be prepared to go play the game and win the game."
Giants add former Cowboy. The Giants signed former Cowboys and Packers linebacker Jaylon Smith to their practice squad.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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