Giants' WanDale Robinson upbeat despite facing adversity
Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson speaks to the media at the New York Giants locker cleanup, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, in East Rutherford. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Rookie Wan’Dale Robinson, who underwent surgery in mid-December to repair a torn ACL, was in the locker room Sunday. He said this year represents the first time he’s missed more than two games in any football season.
“It was really tough for me,” he said. “But adversity struck for me and you’ve just got to bounce back.”
Robinson played in five games; his final game was his best, as he had 100 receiving yards against the Lions on Nov. 20. Targeted 13 times, he made nine catches and accounted for five first downs. That performance, he said, “gives me more confidence to go into next season.”
Despite being injured just as he was getting comfortable, Robinson was upbeat Sunday. He is on track to be ready for the 2023 season.
Thomas reflects on year
Left tackle Andrew Thomas said he had “a lot of fun” this season. That figures, because he played at a high level and established himself as one of the best offensive tackles in the game.
Thomas was selected second-team All-Pro this season.
“I had a lot of fun this year, just with the relationships I’ve built with this team,” he said. “You can tell we love each other, we play hard for each other, and a lot of energy. So it was fun doing that.
“It’s tough [saying goodbye] because after this year, the team’s going to look different next year. Some guys won’t be here, so we just have to appreciate the moments that we have.”
Rookie tackle Evan Neal experienced growing pains. If he can show progress next season, which is fair to expect, the Giants could have their tackles in place for years to come.
Blue notes
This is how Eagles coach Nick Sirianni addressed his players after their 38-7 win over the Giants in the NFC Divisional Round playoff game Saturday night: “A couple of the keys to victory: Offense takes care of the football, awesome job doing that. Defense, a big key was keeping this guy [Daniel Jones] in the pocket with disciplined rush lanes. Defensive line, that was beautiful. The way we were covering in the secondary and the way the D-line rushed was awesome. Great job, guys. Seven sacks as a defense, awesome job. That was a fun game.” . . . Every expectation inside the Giants’ Quest Diagnostics Center is that Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley will be signed to new contracts and will be Giants next season. . . Giants coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are scheduled to hold their season-ending news conference Monday.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
