Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, the franchise’s prized first-round pick, was ruled out of Sunday night’s preseason game against the Bengals with a knee injury.
Thibodeaux went down quickly after a cut block took his legs out from under him as he was pursuing a run play. The 21-year-old remained on the ground for a few minutes before being helped to the sideline by team trainers.
Thibodeaux was seen smiling on the sideline with teammates and waved off a training cart that would have taken him to the locker room. In addition, there’s initial optimism Thibodeaux avoided major injury, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Here’s the play that took Thibodeaux out on Sunday night:
Thibodeaux was selected as the No. 5 pick in April’s NFL draft out of Oregon, and is seen as a key piece to shore up the Giants' pass rush in 2022 and beyond.
While the play looked initially like it could have ended Thobodeaux’s rookie season before it even started, there’s at least hope that he will be OK and that the Giants can proceed this season with their young star defensive end.
