Giants Carry One of the NFL's Worst Injury Risks Into 2026

An aging roster and a shaky track record with health have New York's rebuild hanging in the balance.

May 21, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (78) speaks at a press conference during organized team activities at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Whether it be through misfires in the front office or miserable on-field performances, the New York Giants have brought their fan base a staggering amount of nausea and disappointment for the better part of a decade and a half.

But believe it or not, the organization is not solely to blame. Big Blue has endured several devastating injuries that have derailed long-term development and turned bad seasons into utterly disastrous ones.

Every team deals with this problem at one time or another, but the Giants have not had the roster depth or culture to survive absences of key players.

This year could be different, however. It will need to be, because New York heads into the 2026 campaign with a worryingly high risk for injury, according to projections by RotoWire, which scored the Giants with a 62.0 on the injury risk index, the third-worst index among the 32 NFL teams.

The Index, according to author Thomas Leary, “is built from a team's three-year Adjusted Games Lost trend, how banged-up it already is entering camp, its roster age, its 2026 travel-and-rest schedule, and whether it plays home games on turf.”

Giants Are Looking to Control the Injury Bug

The New York Giants don't want to keep seeing scenes like this one when wide receiver Malik Nabers was carted off the field following a season-ending knee injury last year. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Players are acclimating to new head coach John Harbaugh's way of doing things, which is a significant difference from the past. They need to stay healthy, especially when it comes to their key contributors on both sides of the ball.

Unfortunately, several factors are working against Big Blue, starting with ongoing questions about the artificial field at MetLife Stadium. But the biggest red flag that should concern fans most is arguably age.

The Giants have the third-highest NFL average roster age entering the new season at 26.54, per Ian Hartitz of RotoWire. The arrivals of receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (33), defensive tackles Shelby Harris (34) and DJ Reader (32), fullback Patrick Ricard (32) and offensive lineman Lucas Patrick (32) all drove up that number.

This is significant because older players don’t always bounce back as quickly as their younger counterparts.

Then there is just the matter of luck. Take, for instance, starting left tackle Andrew Thomas, who has played only 29 games across the last three years.

Injuries can obviously ravage other position groups as well. Still, after all the anguish this franchise has endured, Lady Luck is due to be a bit more sympathetic to the Giants this season.

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