Giants CB Aaron Robinson Suffered ACL, MCL Tears
Brian Daboll had said Aaron Robinson was unlikely to return from IR this season. Recent news not only indicates that will definitively not happen but points to Robinson missing the Giants’ 2023 offseason program.
The knee injury Robinson suffered in Week 4 was a torn MCL and partially torn ACL, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets. Robinson underwent surgery last month and is staring at a nine-month recovery timetable, Duggan adds. While this provides clarity, it is a major blow to a recent Day 2 pick.
The Giants chose Robinson in the 2021 third round, but the regime that selected him is now gone. Robinson began his career late after rehabbing a core muscle surgery, playing in just nine games as a rookie. After being a part-time contributor (two starts) last season, the Giants greenlit a major role expansion for the Central Florida and Alabama product. Robinson emerged as a starter this season, but a September appendectomy and these October knee maladies — sustained 10 snaps into the Giants’ Week 4 game — figures to set him back.
A training camp return seems the best bet for the 6-foot-1 defender. The Giants have dealt with extensive injury trouble in their secondary — one already depleted by the new regime making James Bradberry and Logan Ryan cap casualties — this season, limiting first-year DC Don Martindale. Adoree’ Jackson suffered an MCL sprain last month; the team’s No. 1 corner will miss a third straight game this week. Third-round pick Cor’Dale Flott also missed a chunk of his rookie season. These issues have left the 7-4-1 team’s corner contingent significantly shorthanded; the team has not won any of the games Jackson has missed. Fabian Moreau, whom the Texans cut after training camp, has become an every-week starter for the Giants.
After the Giants cut Ryan and let Jabrill Peppers sign with the Patriots in free agency, they have seen Xavier McKinney run into injury trouble. An ATV accident has sidelined McKinney for the past month; he remains on New York’s reserve/NFI list. McKinney suffered a broken hand and underwent a procedure to have pins removed from three fingers this week, Duggan adds (via Twitter). The former second-round pick again expressed confidence he will return this season but couched that by indicating he needs more time to heal.
Updated 2023 NFL Draft Order
The NFL now has its first teams eliminated from playoff contention. The Texans and Bears, as they essentially have been doing throughout this season, are playing for next year. Other eliminations will soon follow, as the league’s playoff picture heats up.
Through that lens, the 2023 draft order will become an increasingly more pertinent topic. The 2023 draft will present an interesting subplot near its outset. Traded picks are set to produce early selections for the Seahawks, Lions and Eagles. Each of those picks currently land in the top five, as the teams on the other end of those trades — the Broncos, Rams and Saints — have disappointed, spectacularly so in Los Angeles and Denver’s cases.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2022 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order would look entering Week 14:
- Houston Texans: 1-10-1
- Chicago Bears: 3-9
- Seattle Seahawks (via Broncos)
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Saints)
- Carolina Panthers: 4-8
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 4-8
- Arizona Cardinals: 4-8
- Indianapolis Colts: 4-8-1
- Atlanta Falcons: 5-8
- Green Bay Packers: 5-8
- Las Vegas Raiders: 5-7
- Houston Texans (via Browns)
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-7
- Detroit Lions: 5-7
- Los Angeles Chargers: 6-6
- New England Patriots: 6-6
- Washington Commanders: 7-5-1
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-6*
- Seattle Seahawks: 7-5*
- Tennessee Titans: 7-5*
- New York Jets: 7-5*
- New York Giants: 7-4-1*
- Denver Broncos (via 49ers through Dolphins)*
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-4*
- Cincinnati Bengals: 8-4*
- Dallas Cowboys: 9-3*
- Kansas City Chiefs: 9-3*
- Minnesota Vikings: 10-2*
- Buffalo Bills: 9-3*
- Philadelphia Eagles: 11-1*
* = Denotes playoff team
The 2023 first round will resemble 2008 and 2016, when the Patriots were docked their Round 1 pick for their respective “gate” scandals. This year’s Dolphins saga never developed “gate” status, but the team lost a 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-rounder due to the Tom Brady–Sean Payton tampering case. Thus, a 31-pick first round will commence.
While the Broncos, Rams and Browns lost their first-round picks due to trades for quarterbacks, the Saints passed theirs to the Eagles in this year’s pre-draft trade that allowed New Orleans a path toward moving up for Chris Olave. The No. 16 pick which was initially transferred from the Colts to the Eagles in 2021’s Carson Wentz trade was then moved to the Saints, netting Philadelphia a 2023 first-rounder and a 2024 second.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/7/22
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB BoPete Keyes, WR Binjimen Victor
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: P Kevin Huber
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Kevin White
- Released: TE Dylan Soehner
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Roy Mbaeteka
New York Jets
- Signed: OL Sam Schlueter
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OT Roderick Johnson, DT Marvin Wilson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Emeke Egbule
- Released: RB Master Teague
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OT Grant Hermanns, S Nolan Turner
Latest On WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham Jr.‘s third and final visit has concluded, but it’s uncertain if a contract is imminent. Josina Anderson tweets that the wideout’s visit with the Cowboys concluded earlier this evening. This followed reports from earlier today that Dallas was concerned about OBJ’s knee.
[RELATED: Cowboys Concerned About OBJ’s Health]
Throughout the sweepstakes, there’s been persistent skepticism that OBJ would be able to contribute this season after suffering a torn ACL during last season’s Super Bowl. After opining earlier today that any team signing the wideout wouldn’t benefit until the 2023 campaign, Ed Werder adds (on Twitter) that the Cowboys “should not reasonably expect OBJ to play before [the] postseason.” Werder adds that Jerry Jones has been consistent in his assertion that a receiver acquistion needs to contribute during the regular season, but with only five games remaining, there’s a chance the executive’s stance has changed.
The wideout met with the Cowboys this week after previously meeting with the Giants and Bills. Unless something changed during tonight’s meeting, the Giants were the only reported team to put OBJ through an actual workout. This only adds uncertainty to OBJ’s readiness, although the wideout was cleared to return to the field in November.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is raising an eyebrow to the sudden leaks surrounding OBJ’s playing status. A league source told Florio that the negative info is “astounding” and wondered how the player could “even consider signing there now.” That same source questioned if the Cowboys are simply going through the motions to placate fans, and that would add to a previous sentiment that Dallas was only trying to drive up the price on their division rival.
There may be more to the Cowboys’ public posturing. Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that the two sides were “still aways apart” with contract negotiations heading into tonight’s meeting. Previous reports indicated that Beckham was seeking a multiyear offer with a $20MM-plus AAV, although that was always considered to be unrealistic. The Rams offered an incentive-laden deal when they pursued OBJ earlier this season, but the receiver was quick to dismiss that arrangement.
Giants S Xavier McKinney Expects To Return This Season
The Giants have been without safety Xavier McKinney for the last three games due to a broken hand that he suffered in an ATV accident during a bye-week vacation. As Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports, McKinney is expected to miss at least several more weeks, but he does plan to return this season.
New York is 7-4 and currently holds the sixth playoff spot in the NFC. However, the club has lost two in a row and takes on the division-rival Commanders — who presently hold the seventh and final postseason spot — two times within the next three weeks. As such, Big Blue’s postseason fortunes could be largely decided before McKinney gets back on the field.
McKinney, 23, was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, and while a broken foot limited him to just six games in his rookie season, he emerged as a foundational player for the Giants in 2021, when he appeared in all 17 games (16 starts) and notched five interceptions. He also pulled down an excellent 75.4 grade from Pro Football Focus, which was especially bullish on his coverage abilities.
His PFF grade slipped to 56.3 over the first eight games of the current season, though his presence is still missed. A team captain, McKinney is also the defensive signal-caller for a unit that was ranked eighth in the league in scoring defense at the time of his injury and which is now ranked 14th in that regard.
The secondary as a whole has been hit hard by injury. In the Giants’ Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cowboys, they were without starters Adoree’ Jackson, Fabian Moreau, and McKinney, and while Moreau is active for the team today, Jackson is expected to miss several more weeks. As Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets, New York is deploying Nick McCloud and Moreau on the boundaries today, while UDFA rookie Zyon Gilbert — who is making his pro debut — will work as the primary slot corner.
In McKinney’s stead, the Giants first turned to fourth-round rookie Dane Belton for two games before pivoting to Jason Pinnock, a 2021 fifth-round choice of the Jets whom Big Blue claimed off waivers during final cutdowns in August.
Giants Activate OLB Azeez Ojulari, S Tony Jefferson From IR
The Giants are in the midst of a bit of a midseason slump during a crucial four-game stretch of division games. They are activating pass rusher Azeez Ojulari and safety Tony Jefferson from injured reserve in hopes that they’ll be able to turn things around after losing three of their last four, according to Giants senior writer Michael Elsen. 
New York will certainly be glad to see Ojulari return to the field to assist with an aspect of the game they’ve struggled with so far this season: sack production. Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has been able to produce some form of pass rush, much like he did during his time with the Ravens, by getting creative and sending blitzers from every part of the field. While this has resulted in 12 different players contributing to the team’s sack total, the Giants haven’t gotten consistent results out of any one player, besides defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence leads the team with five sacks and is the only one of those 12 players with more than two.
Ojulari not only will get to the quarterback, as he showed he could during his rookie season when he led the team with eight sacks, but his presence should help the other defensive lineman provide more of a natural pass rush. With offensive linemen focused on Ojulari, Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and this year’s No. 5 overall pick, Kayvon Thibodeaux, should be freed up with some one-on-one matchups.
Jefferson is a depth piece in the Giants secondary. After two standard gameday elevations, Jefferson was signed to the team’s active roster for their London game against the Packers. Jefferson unfortunately suffered a foot injury in the game and was promptly placed on IR. With starting safety Xavier McKinney ruled out for the fourth-straight game, Jefferson provides a solid option alongside Dane Belton to start opposite the team’s other starting safety, Julian Love.
New York also made an exchange at the tight end position in today’s transactions. The Giants signed veteran tight end Nick Vannett to the active roster from the practice squad, waiving tight end Tanner Hudson to make room. With fourth-round rookie, and expected starter, Daniel Bellinger missing the last four games with an eye injury, the Giants have recently turned to recent addition Lawrence Cager who converted from wide receiver this past offseason. The team is expecting to finally get Bellinger back but will have Cager and Vannett available for backup.
Lastly, New York has promoted defensive tackle Vernon Butler and defensive back Zyon Gilbert as standard gameday elevations from the practice squad for tomorrow’s matchup with the Commanders. If Gilbert enters the game for Big Blue tomorrow, it would be the NFL debut for the undrafted rookie out of Florida Atlantic.
NFL Workout Rumors: Basham, Dobbs, Raiders, Beckham
Veteran defensive end Tarell Basham is quickly back to work in trying to secure his spot on an NFL roster, spending the day with the Titans on a free agent visit, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. He’s been available for three days and has clearly been busy attempting to find his fourth NFL home.
This display of resiliency is nothing new for the 28-year-old. After disappointing as a third-round pick in Indianapolis, Basham was waived partway through only his sophomore season in the league. He was claimed the next day by the Jets but failed to produce much more in the next season and a half. In his final year in New York, Basham decided to have a career year starting nine games for the Jets and recording career highs in sacks (3.5), tackles for loss (5.0), and quarterback hits (13).
He capitalized on that performance, signing a two-year, $5.5MM contract to join the Cowboys. Basham rewarded Dallas with a season much like his last in New York matching his sack total and racking up three tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits. His second year with the team hit a bit of a snag, though. A thigh injury in the fourth quarter of the team’s season-opening loss to the Buccaneers landed Basham on injured reserve. He would eventually return to the active roster, after sitting out seven weeks, but would only play eight more snaps as a Cowboy before being released earlier this week.
The Titans could certainly use the depth in a season that currently shows them with fifteen players on IR, tops in the NFL. Basham likely wouldn’t start for Tennessee if signed to the team but he could certainly provide some strong depth behind starting defensive ends Jeffery Simmons and DeMarcus Walker.
Here are few other workout rumors from around the NFL, starting with a former AFC North quarterback looking for a new home:
- Former Browns backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs worked out for the Broncos today, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. The sixth-year quarterback out of Tennessee is looking to join the fourth NFL team of his career after being waived in order to make room for newly available Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson following Watson’s 11-game suspension. Also involved in the workout were wide receivers Javon McKinley, Malik Taylor, and Connor Wedington.
- The Raiders also hosted a large workout today, according to Wilson, with the most notable names being former Baylor running back Abram Smith and former Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate. Smith had a breakout senior year for the Bears that saw him rush for 1,601 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Smith originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Saints, getting cut before the final roster deadlines. He’s auditioned for the Texans and Browns since then and was recently the No. 1 overall pick in the recent 2023 XFL Draft. Tate spent his rookie in 2020 attempting to convert from quarterback to wide receiver for the Eagles before eventually getting waived just prior to his sophomore season. He had offseason stints with two separate teams in the Canadian Football League this summer but did not appear in any games. Other participants in the workout were quarterback Nathan Rourke, wide receiver Jerreth Sterns, and defensive backs Daniel Isom and Nate Meadors.
- Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made the first in a tour of several visits today, according to Wilson. The visit with the Giants reportedly lasted two days involving a medical check early in the day and dinner with some players and coaches later on, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN. His next stop is expected to be in Buffalo before eventually heading to Dallas. As we reported recently, it is not uncommon that Beckham didn’t actually work out for New York. His visits with the Bills and Cowboys are expected to follow a similar itinerary of medical examination and sales pitch.
Odell Beckham Jr. Not Planning To Work Out For Giants, Bills, Cowboys
Months in the making, Odell Beckham Jr.‘s free agency tour will begin Thursday with a Giants visit. Friday, Beckham will depart for Buffalo, with perhaps his most pivotal meeting — with Dallas, which is viewed as the favorite — set for Monday.
These visits will not involve any Beckham workouts, according to the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, who notes the eight-year veteran wide receiver is not planning to audition for any of the three teams he will visit. While marquee free agents visiting teams and not working out is nothing new, Beckham’s plan will place a greater emphasis on the interested teams’ medical evaluations.
Giants doctors will examine Beckham, who has twice torn his left ACL since October 2020, and this routine will surely continue in Buffalo and Dallas over the next few days. The Giants’ medical evaluation will include an MRI, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Some skepticism regarding Beckham’s capabilities has emerged around the league recently, but the standout pass catcher is believed to have been cleared for work in November. Early December once resided on the latter end of OBJ’s projected return timetable, but his Rams contributions have still convinced teams to wait late into this season.
Beckham, 30, will meet with new Giants power brokers Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, along with staffers who were with the Giants during his five-season New York stay, and reconnect with John Mara. More serious discussions will be expected to commence Friday, Schwartz adds.
The Giants gave Beckham a five-year, $90MM extension just before the 2018 season began, and while that year did include a bounce back from a lost 2017 season, OBJ’s 1,052-yard campaign also happened during a season in which he criticized Eli Manning in a TV interview. The then-Dave Gettleman-led Giants regime traded Beckham to the Browns in March 2019. Among the players exchanged in that deal, only Dexter Lawrence remains with one of those teams.
As for Beckham’s fit with the Schoen-Daboll Giants, he would slide in as a potentially lethal X-factor — depending on his readiness and grasp of Daboll’s system — and help a Giants team that has seen its receiver plan change drastically from September. Ex-Beckham teammate Sterling Shepard is out for the season; so is second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson. Kadarius Toney is now in Kansas City, and Kenny Golladay‘s $18MM-per-year pact has produced next to nothing. Months-long trade candidate Darius Slayton, who was drafted a month after the OBJ trade, is now Daniel Jones‘ No. 1 target.
Jones and Beckham never played together, but if OBJ returns to the Big Apple, he would be a critical aid to the fourth-year quarterback and the team’s quest to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. That season marks Beckham’s most recent Pro Bowl year. Despite injuries and a poor Cleveland fit, he has remained on the star tier. Teams’ offers during this unique free agency derby will be telling. Beckham is believed to be seeking a multiyear commitment.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/29/22
Today’s practice squad moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: S Adrian Colbert
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB Owen Carney, WR Tyron Johnson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB Tae Davis
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DB Lamar Jackson
- Released: WR Kaden Davis, RB Tyreik McAllister
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Jarren Williams
- Released: WR Josh Johnson
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: TE Nick Guggemos
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Kenny Young
- Placed on IR: OL Drew Desjarlais
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Devery Hamilton, LB Quincy Roche, DB Trenton Thompson
- Released: WR Robert Foster
New York Jets
- Signed: S Kai Nacua, RB Jonathan Ward
- Released: WR Diontae Spencer, DL Marquiss Spencer
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: RB Kennedy Brooks, T Roderick Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DE Renell Wren
- Released: WR Josh Malone
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Kemoko Turay
- Released: CB Ka’dar Hollman
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB J.J. Russell
- Activated from IR: CB Anthony Chesley
- Released: DL Khalil Davis, CB Quandre Mosely
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Reggie Roberson Jr.
Giants Designate Ben Bredeson, Azeez Ojulari, Tony Jefferson For Return
The Giants were one of the surprise stories of the NFL during the early portion of the season, but the team has become increasingly hampered by injuries on both sides of the ball lately. New York will soon be receiving reinforcements, however, as the team has designated three players for return from IR.
Left guard Ben Bredeson is among the trio, something which will soon give the Giants another starting option up front. The former fourth-rounder was not projected to be a first-teamer to begin the campaign, but an injury to Shane Lemieux changed those plans. Bredeson played in a rotation with rookie Joshua Ezeudu through the first two games of the season, but then operated as a full-time starter before landing on IR last month. His return may not need to be rushed, given the fact that Lemieux has since been activated.
Edge rusher Azeez Ojulari could provide the Giants with depth at the position if he is able to remain healthy. The 2021 second-rounder impressed as a rookie with a team-leading eight sacks, but has hardly played this year. Ojulari spent time on the NFI list in the summer due to a calf injury, but was not placed on IR right away with the team hoping he could suit up at some point in September. That was the case, as the Georgia product played in Weeks 3 and 4, but a reaggravation of the previous ailment has kept him sidelined ever since. If he can regain his form from last season and serve as a bookend to rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York’s pass rush could receive a considerable boost.
Lastly, veteran safety Tony Jefferson‘s practice window has been opened. The 30-year-old has only played three games in 2022, after following Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale from Baltimore to the Big Apple. The Giants are dealing with starter Xavier McKinney currently on the shelf due to an ATV accident earlier this month. That could leave defensive snaps available for Jefferson upon his return, especially if the team opts to use more three-safety packages amidst their injuries at cornerback.
Each player now has a three-week time period within which they must be activated to be eligible to play again in 2022. If all three are brought back, the Giants will have used up each of their remaining activations for the season, but they will also have at least rotational contributors in place for the stretch run.