Kayvon Thibodeaux still wearing red injury jersey at Giants OTAs
The Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux uses the stationary bikes during a practice at the team's training facility in East Rutherford, N.J., on May 26, 2022. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
Kayvon Thibodeaux has yet to return to practice since limping off the field in the first days of OTAs last month, and now the Giants are left hoping their first-round pick will be ready for the start of training camp.
“Knock on wood, hopefully he'll be good to go,” coach Brian Daboll said Thursday of Thibodeaux’s availability when the real work begins in late July. “Hopefully. I'm not going to promise anything. He may or may not.”
That’s a rather gloomy prognosis for such an important player in the Giants’ plans, but it may just be an indication of the kind of caution they are showing him and others at this point in the offseason. Daboll came back later and wouldn’t even rule Thibodeaux out for next week’s three-day minicamp — “There's a lot of things that can happen over the weekend,” he said — so there is a chance he’s closer to recovery and a return to the field than initially indicated.
Thibodeaux has been in attendance at all of the OTAs, including Thursday’s. He’s been in all of the meetings and during the practice sessions he dons a red injury jersey and typically spends time with trainers or with coaches watching the installations and drills.
Said Daboll of the red jersey brigade that includes several players recovering from offseason surgeries such as Sterling Shepard, Blake Martinez and Andrew Thomas: “When they're ready to go, they'll be ready to go.”
For now, that nebulous timeline stands for Thibodeaux too.
Notes & quotes: Backup QB Tyrod Taylor had two would-be TD passes dropped in Thursday’s practice, one by TE Jordan Akins and another by WR Darius Slayton . . . Daboll said the schedule for next week’s minicamp will not be drastically different than it has been for OTAs, which conclude with the 10th and final workout on Friday. The biggest difference will be that everything thus far this offseason has been voluntary and the minicamp is mandatory for players to attend.
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.
