Giants Final Injury Report for Week 6: Slayton, Lawrence Questionable
The Giants listed receiver Darius Slayton (foot) and defensive lineman Dexter Lawerence II (knee) on this week's final injury report, but barring any setbacks, both should be ready to play Sunday.
Of Slayton, head coach Joe Judge said Friday, "I’m expecting Darius to play. If the trainers tell me otherwise, they tell me otherwise."
If Slayton has a setback to where he can't make it, the expectation is that Austin Mack, elevated from the practice squad, could see a sizeable role this weekend.
"He’s definitely a guy that’s been consistent for us from day one," said Judge. "This is a guy that prepares very well, he plays with a high motor, he plays very hard. He’s a young guy, but he does a lot of things in terms of instincts that helps him make the right decisions on the grass at full speed. This guy plays full tilt all the time. I’m very pleased with his work ethic."
Judge also dropped a little nugget about Mack and just how involved he's really been behind the scenes.
"He’s traveled with us to multiple games now in terms of being ready in case something were to happen with COVID," Judge said.
"We just thought at the time that he’s done a good enough job and he’s earned the opportunity to get on the grass and play for us. We’ll see where that goes active wise this Sunday. But he’s earned the right to be on the 53."
Lawrence's injury is not believed to be serious enough to keep him out of action Sunday. The Giants have a walkthrough scheduled for Saturday, so there is always the possibility of a setback.
The Giants also added free safety Adrian Colbert (shoulder) to the injury report as questionable. Colbert did practice fully on Friday.
Safety/punt returner Jabrill Peppers (ankle) was not listed on the final injury report, a good sign that could mean increased reps for the defensive back Sunday.
The same can be said of outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell (ankle), who was limited most of this week in practice.
In other injury news, receiver Sterling Shepard, who was eligible to begin his 21-day window toward working his way back from IR, was not out on the practice field Friday.
Shepard has yet to be officially designated for return, the transaction being the trigger that starts the 21-day window afforded to each player looking to return from IR.
The NFL adjusted the IR rules this year due to COVID-19 to allow for an unlimited number of players to return from the reserve list after initially increasing the number from two to three in the new CBA ratified back in March.
Another change made was reducing the number of weeks a player must stay on IR from six weeks to three.
Speaking of players coming off injured reserve, there is a chance of inside linebacker David Mayo, who had knee surgery in late August and who is finishing the second of his three-week exemption window, being activated Sunday.
"He’s making a lot of progress," Judge said. "Obviously, we’ll talk about the actives and inactives. He’ll be in that conversation for us."
The Giants will have to clear a roster spot for Mayo if he's deemed well enough to rejoin the 53-man roster.
