Six New York Giants Story Lines for Week 5

The Giants begin a more challenging part of their schedule this weekend when they face the Green Bay Packers in London this weekend.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Oct 5, 2022 8:00 AM EDT

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New York Giants

It's about to get real for the New York Giants this weekend.

Thus far, the Giants have defeated the teams they were supposed to beat--the Carolinas and Chicagos of the world, both of whom currently have records of .500 or less. The Giants also managed to sneak by the Titans, who stand 2-2, but they fell to the Cowboys, who currently stand at 3-1.

The Giants will "visit" the Green Bay Packers, 3-1, this weekend in London. New York is already pegged as a 9.5-point underdog for this game, perhaps due to the rash of injuries that have created countless questions about how head coach Brian Daboll will pull a rabbit out of his hat.

But where there's a will, there's a way, and so far, Daboll ad his staff have figured out how to keep this rebuilding team competitive in every one of their games, win or lose, injuries or health, rain or shine.

What will the current weekend bring? We'll find out soon enough, but in the meantime, here's a look at the developing storylines ahead of the Giants' Week 5 game against the Packers.

London Calling

The Giants are heading across the pond for the third time since the NFL's International Series began in 2007 (the Giants and Dolphins were the two inaugural teams in that first game). New York is 2-0 in games played in London, having last defeated the Los Angeles Rams 17-10 o October 23, 2016.

This weekend, the Giants and Packers, both 3-1, are the first two teams with winning records to take part in a London game. For the Giants, they plan to leave for the U.K. on Thursday night, the thinking of head coach Brian Daboll being that the flight time is no different than a flight to the West Coast.

Will that be enough time for the players to acclimate to the time zone change (London is six hours ahead of New York)? The extra day should help, but we'll see if the Giants lack energy on Sunday.

Who's at Quarterback?

In case you missed the news, the Giants have a conundrum at quarterback thanks to the injury bug hitting starter Daniel Jones (ankle) and backup Tyrod Taylor (concussion) on Sunday.

Jones's injury was bad enough to where Daboll pulled him from the game in favor of Taylor, but when Taylor got injured, Daboll found himself with little choice but to put Jones back in the game, albeit as a game manager who handed the ball off.

According to Daboll, Jones has been making rehab progress since sustaining the injury. The fourth-year signal caller wants to play Sunday, but don't expect Daboll to make the same mistake his predecessor, Joe Judge, made with Jones two years ago when Judge decided he could live with an immobile Jones in a game against the Cardinals only to find out otherwise.

"I’d say the first thing we do is make sure he’s as healthy as can be, and if he can do the things we need him to do for that game plan, then we talk about it. If he can’t, then he can’t," Daboll said of Jones.

As of Tuesday, the Giants, who worked out quarterbacks A.J. McCarron, Brian Lewerke, and Jake Fromm, hadn't signed any of them. The team will likely elevate Davis Webb from the practice squad as Taylor would appear to be a longshot to play this weekend, let alone be far enough in the tightened-up protocol to get on a plane.

Jones? He won't go down without a fight, but it will be interesting to see how much he can do in practice this week.

"I’m just going to take it each day and see how he is," Daboll said when asked if Jones could potentially play if he doesn't practice. "If he can practice and go out there and perform the things we need him to do, great. If he needs a day, he needs a day.

"He’s played a lot of football. I trust him and where he’s at. I think we as a coaching staff have got to do a good job of watching him, evaluating him, getting all the information we need to make the best decision for him and the team as we can."

Who's at Receiver?

Quarterback isn't the only position where the Giants have question marks. Their underperforming receiver corps lost Sterling Shepard in Week 3, and it could be without the disappointing Kenny Golladay (knee) this weekend.

That would leave the Giants with three known healthy receivers: David Sills V, Richie James, and Darius Slayton. It's unknown if Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) and/or Kadarius Toney (hamstring) will be ready, but it's probably safe to assume if they don't practice, they won't be.

It's also probably safe to assume the Giants will look to elevate a receiver from their practice squad as they did last week when they called up Marcus Johnson.

What About the Rest of the Injured?

The quarterback and receiver positions aren't the only ones bitten by the injury bug. The Giants placed cornerback Aaron Robinson on injured reserve Tuesday, have been without Cor'Dale Flott (leg), and they could be without safety Julian Love (concussion).

Justin Layne, who missed some time earlier this year, could potentially give the Giants snaps at both corner and safety. At the same time, it's anticipated that Fabian Moreau will step in for Robinson as the starter.

The Giants are also waiting to see what edge rusher Azeez Ojulari can give them this week. Ojulari reportedly injured his calf, and Daboll said Monday that he wasn't sure what the second-year player's status was for the coming week. It certainly would be disappointing if the Giants had to lose him for any length of time after seeing him and rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux on the field.

Offensive linemen Mark Glowinski (ankle) and Evan Neal (neck) are both expected to be good for Sunday, even if they are limited in practice.

The Giants are also hoping that defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who has missed the last two games with a sprained MCL, is far enough along to give them some snaps Sunday. They've missed Williams, especially in the run defense.

Any IR Returns?

In case you forgot to mark your calendars, Week 5 is the first week any player placed on injured reserve the first week of the season is eligible to return.

The Giants have a couple of guys who, if healthy, could provide some much-needed depth where they are thin. Edge Elerson Smith has been on IR with a leg issue, and he could step in for Ojulari if the latter has to miss any time. And cornerback Rodarius Williams (knee) would no doubt be a welcomed addition to the defensive secondary, where the cornerback position is paper thin.

Once a player is designated for return, the Giants have 21 days to decide whether to add them to the roster or leave them on IR. New York probably wouldn't make any decisions until later in the week. Still, for a team that is cap strapped right now, if they can fill some of the holes they potentially have at edge rusher and cornerback with guys already accounted for under the salary cap, that would certainly help.

Any Reinforcements Coming?

The Giants held a big workout earlier this week that, in addition to the quarterbacks, also included a pair of receivers (Victor Bolden and Jontre Kirklin) and safety Landon Collins.

As of Tuesday night, no signings were imminent for the Giants, who, per Over the Cap, have $4,381,408 of cap space left. If roster reinforcements are coming, such decisions won't be made until the end of the week as the Giants need to tread lightly with what little cap space they have that needs to last them another 13 games.