Darrian Beavers' season over after Giants linebacker tears ACL
Giants linebacker Darrian Beavers (41) walks off the field after sustaining an injury during the third quarter of a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on Sunday, Aug 21, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
The Giants went 1-for-2 on MRI results Monday.
While there was palpable relief after images of first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux’s right knee showed no structural damage, tests concluded that sixth-round pick Darrian Beavers suffered a torn ACL and he’ll miss his rookie season.
Beavers, the team’s final draft pick in April, had a strong debut against the Patriots last week and was playing well against the Bengals Sunday before he went down with his injury in the third quarter.
The inside linebacker is the latest member of the team’s draft class to suffer a significant injury. Offensive lineman Marcus McKethan, a fifth-round choice, tore his ACL in a practice in MetLife Stadium on Aug. 5, S Dane Belton fractured his collarbone, CB Cor’Dale Flott hurt his groin in the preseason opener, and offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu has missed two weeks with an undisclosed injury. Add Thibodeaux’s sprained MCL to that list.
“Injuries are a part of the game,” Brian Daboll said. “You never want guys to get hurt but that is the nature of playing a contact sport at the highest level. Certain things happen and some of them are out of your control . . . It’s a physical, physical sport with a lot of contact and people moving at high speeds, and unfortunately you're going to have some of those.”
When they are season ending as this is for Beavers, though, the disappointment can be even harder to take.
“There's a wide range of emotions for every player and each player is different,” Daboll said. “You try to be there and be supportive and do the best job that you can in that regard. What's next and having your mind on what's next and helping the players in any way that you can, so it's tough . . . particularly for guys who were developing and doing a good job in camp with a bright future.”
Notes & quotes: The Jamie Gillan Kicking Experiment seems to be ending. Although the punter filled in for kicker Graham Gano on an extra point and a 31-yard field goal along with three kickoffs Sunday night to the amusement of many (“We had a good giggle,” Gillan said Monday), Daboll said he is inclined to add a kicker to the roster for the week or until Gano clears the concussion protocol. The Giants probably could have gotten through the rest of the preseason without a true kicker and addressed the position if they needed to as Week 1 approached but Daboll said he didn’t want to “wear Jamie out.” Gillan said that is fine with him. “I’m just here to hold and punt,” he said, “but if they need anymore field goals from me I’ll be there waiting” . . . Daboll was very pleased with the performance of the offensive line in Sunday’s game. Despite playing shorthanded and with some odd pieces, the unit did not allow a sack to the Bengals and the team averaged 3.4 yards per rush. Among the second-half storylines were tackle Will Holden playing center for the first time in his career, G Chris Owens who had signed with the team Friday, and T Roy Mbaeteka who was playing in an organized game for just the second time in his life.
“That’s the challenge of offensive line play is trying to get five guys to act as one because if one part of it breaks down, it makes all five of them usually look bad,” Daboll said.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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