Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari hobbled out of conditioning sprints late in Thursday’s joint practice with the Jets. He needed two trainers to support him as he limped inside the building.
A source said Ojulari has a lower leg injury. Trainers appeared to be examining his lower right leg on the sideline before he went in.
There was initial optimism Ojulari had avoided a worst-case scenario but no definitive information was available on the injury’s nature or any timetable.
The Giants and Jets, ironically, had scrapped their end-of-practice, two-minute drill period in favor of conditioning sprints to ward off further injuries. Then Ojulari pulled up anyway.
“Just from a numbers game, on both sides of the ball, we were supposed to do a two-minute drill at the end,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said after practice. “And I was like, you know what? Let’s just condition our guys rather than going through another two-minute period.
“They’re [The Giants are] down some receivers, we’re down some guys, too,” Saleh added. “Just wanted to — from the overall health of the team — that was the reason for it.”
Azeez Ojulari (51) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Brian Daboll’s team had a light spring and early camp workload, and they’ve been slammed by injuries so far in camp.
Ojulari, 22, last year’s second-round pick out of Georgia, began training camp on the non-football injury list due to a hamstring injury. His first practice was Aug. 14.
He is the fourth Giants edge-rusher to get hurt in the last 11 days.
Elerson Smith has a boot on his right foot after an Aug. 14 injury. Veteran Jihad Ward just rejoined the fold on Thursday after an undisclosed Aug. 14 injury of his own.
No. 5 overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux sprained his right MCL in Sunday’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, an injury that could cost him the Week 1 opener in Tennessee.
And now Ojulari is banged up, too.
Daniel Jones played well against the Jets’ first-team defense. Receiver David Sills remained his favorite target.
The Jets’ defensive line appeared to get inside for three sacks, two by John Franklin-Myers — one against right tackle Evan Neal, one against right guard Mark Glowinski.
But none of Jones’ passes hit the ground.
Sills bailed him out on a low throw over the middle with a great catch. And Jones’ only incompletion was a red zone interception by Jets corner Bryce Hall on a pass intended for Kenny Golladay.
“I feel like we’re kind of getting in a groove right now,” Sills said of the Giants’ offense. “I feel like we’re on the same page. That’s something that’s very encouraging, especially going against someone other than our guys.”
Jones, Sills and Golladay stayed after practice and worked on red zone throws, including the fade that didn’t connect to Golladay. It’s common to see the Giants’ No. 1 QB put in extra work.
Rookie receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was unexpectedly held out of Thursday’s 11-on-11 period. The second-round pick also sat out conditioning sprints with wideout Darius Slayton, who has been dealing with an undisclosed injury of his own.
Robinson had a black sleeve covering his left calf. Richie James practiced in Robinson’s place, since Sterling Shepard was dialed back in his second practice since last season’s Achilles tear.
Kadarius Toney took two reps in 11-on-11 and ran some 7-on-7 routes against Jets DBs.
Slayton practiced in full for the first time since sustaining an undisclosed injury on Aug. 11 in the preseason opener at New England. He made a great, one-handed catch down the left sideline on a pass from No. 2 QB Tyrod Taylor.
This was the first joint Giants-Jets practice since 2005. Daboll and Saleh both said they’d like to make this an annual tradition.
The first step was to avoid any huge fights on Thursday, and they succeeded. Daboll had talked to his team about that specifically.
“Show respect for each other, work hard together to improve and play football,” the Giants’ coach said before practice. “Not interested in going to see a UFC or boxing matches or anything like that, although I love both of those. Just good, competitive football.”
Saleh cracked at the media: “We don’t need any fighting. I know you guys all came looking for a fight, but I have a lot of respect for Daboll. And we want to make a habit out of this.”
Sills said there was “a little bit more adrenaline” approaching Thursday’s practice.
“We were pretty hyped up,” he said. “We had music going in the meetings. Guys were excited about it. And I think we kept that energy through the whole practice.”
Giants corner Olaijah Griffin had an interception of Jets QB Joe Flacco.
The Jets plan to play their starters between a quarter and a half in Sunday’s 1 p.m. preseason finale. Daboll has not announced the Giants’ plans yet.
The Giants signed free agent TE Tanner Hudson and waived OL Chris Owens. Hudson, 27, has five catches in 22 appearances with the Bucs and 49ers. The Giants need better blocking at tight end. The hope is he can help in that area.
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News