The strong expectation that Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari will not play in Sunday’s season opener against the Titans means the Giants need to come up with emergency options at their two starting outside linebacker spots.
“We’ll have a plan,’’ defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said Wednesday. “I know Custer had one, too, so we’ll see what happens.’’
The Giants hope their visit to Nashville does not become their Little Big Horn. Their defense is being built around the ability of Thibodeaux, the prized rookie taken with the No. 5 pick in the 2022 draft and Ojulari, who set a franchise rookie record last season with eight sacks.
Thibodeaux (knee) and Ojulari (calf) for a second consecutive day did little on the field, not even participating in individual drills, and it does not appear they will be ready to go this weekend against the Titans. Without them, Oshane Ximines becomes the top edge rusher on the roster, and he figures to work in tandem with veteran Jihad Ward and possibly rookie Tomon Fox, attempting to get to quarterback Ryan Tannehill and, perhaps more importantly, keeping running back Derrick Henry from getting outside of defensive containment and wreaking havoc.
Oshane Ximines will get a chance to prove his worth with a big role in Week 1. Bill Kostroun“Very excited, first game of the season, Tennessee Titans, it’s football Sunday, man. How can you not be excited?’’ Ximines told The Post.
For Ximines, this is quite a revival, considering how far he sank and disappeared from sight in 2021.
Ximines is just 25 yet he has experienced the highs and lows of NFL life. He became the first player ever selected in an NFL draft from Old Dominion when the Giants used a third-round pick on him in 2019, intrigued by a small-school pass rusher with 32.5 college sacks. Sure enough, Ximines as a rookie showed he had something as an edge rusher with 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits in 16 games.
A shoulder injury in 2020 landed him on injured reserve after just four games. He was used in a rotation on defense the first half of the 2021 season, but his production was nonexistent — no sacks, no tackles for loss and one quarterback hit in the first eight games. In that eighth game, the Giants were hanging in with the Chiefs in Kansas City, tied at 17 in the fourth quarter when cornerback Darnay Holmes intercepted a Patrick Mahomes pass with 4:39 remaining. A massive upset was brewing … until the turnover was nullified when Ximines was penalized for being offside. The Giants lost, 20-17.
Ximines struggled to find a role with the Giants last season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
That was it for Ximines in the eyes of the Joe Judge coaching staff. In the last nine games, Ximines was inactive — a healthy scratch — six times. He suited up but did not play one game, and in two games was limited to special teams snaps.
There is a way to describe what happened to Ximines: He was buried.
“After my rookie year, things kind of went downhill,’’ Ximines said. “Getting hurt Year 2 and what happened last year, it’s in the past. Rookie year feels like ages ago. I’m just looking at this as a new opportunity to show what I can do.’’
Ximines has dug himself out.
“When we got here and we watched the tape, you really wanted to just start with a blank slate with everybody,’’ outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins said.
When he was working with Martindale in Baltimore, Wilkins took Ximines out to dinner the night before Old Dominion’s Pro Day. The Giants eventually took Ximines, and Wilkins lost touch with him.
“Then you get here and he’s really become everything we’re asking for as far as a versatile player that can set the edge, win one-on-one rushes, drop in coverages and do all the little details we look for, he’s just taken it and run with it,’’ Wilkins said. “It’s been really exciting to see that growth this year.’’
Ward has 10 career sacks in 68 games — he is mainly a run-stopper. Thibodeaux and Ojulari are the sack artists, but they are not expected to make it in Week 1.
“Oshane is a helluva player, a helluva pass rusher,’’ said Ward, who played on Martindale’s defense with the Ravens. “He’s ready, all my guys are ready. We’re not folding.’’
Martindale’s aggressive schemes can only do so much; the Giants need someone to apply pressure when Tannehill drops back to pass.
“I love Oshane and what he’s done and he’s getting better every day,’’ Martindale said.
“I appreciate him saying that,’’ Ximines said. “I got confidence in him, too.’’
