The Giants may get back the jewel of their most recent draft class on Sunday.
Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux believes he is trending in the right direction to make his NFL debut at home against the Panthers after missing the season opener with a knee injury he suffered in the preseason.
“We’re getting close,” the fifth-overall pick out of Oregon in last April’s draft said. “I’m really confident in this Sunday.”
Thibodeaux has practiced the past two days on a limited basis with a brace on his right knee, taking part in team drills, and said the knee is feeling significantly better. He still has to get over the mental hurdle of not thinking about it when he’s out there, but the rookie is progressing.
Giants pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) at practice on Sept. 15, 2022. Noah K. Murray
Kayvon Thibodeaux speaks to reporters after Giants practice on Sept. 15, 2022. Noah K. Murray“We’ve been making great gains,” Thibodeaux said. “Ultimately it will come to how I feel come Friday and Saturday. Everything has been going well, and yeah, I’m optimistic about it.”
Thibodeaux suffered what at the time looked like a major injury in the Giants’ preseason game against the Bengals on Aug. 21. He went down after getting cut-blocked by tight end Thaddeus Moss and grabbed his right knee. Fortunately, it was only a sprain. But it still has kept him out several weeks.
“I wasn’t really too worried,” Thibodeaux said, when asked about missing the come-from-behind win over the Titans. “They say the second rat always gets the cheese. As long as I continue to do what I need to do, I’ll be good in the long run.”
Getting back Thibodeaux, who looked so good during training camp, would be a major boost for the defense that is short on edge rushers. The Giants managed just one sack Sunday.
Whether or not Thibodeaux is active for the home opener is still uncertain. He wants to be sure he can be “safe in uncontrolled circumstances” and needs to be able to “tolerate the pain and make sure that I don’t do too much to re-aggravate it.” But ifIf he does play, it figures to be a memorable afternoon for the promising 21-year-old with an extremely high upside.
“It’ll be exciting,” Thibodeaux said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s been a crazy year worth of events and it’ll be unbelievable to be out there.”
