Prosperity didn’t last very long. After two straight wins, the Giants had to deal with some tough news Monday.
Impressive rookie inside linebacker Ryan Connelly was lost for the season with a torn ACL, an MRI exam revealed, and was placed on injured reserve.
“It’s unfortunate, but he’s got a real bright future and he’ll come back from this,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “He was doing a lot of really good things for us.”
Connelly, a fifth-round pick out of Wisconsin, moved into a starting role in Week 2. He had interceptions each of the past two games and also added a sack on Sunday before twisting awkwardly while making a tackle on Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
With Connelly out and the status of fellow linebackers Alec Ogletree (hamstring) and Tae Davis (concussion) still uncertain, the Giants are rail-thin at inside linebacker. Newcomer David Mayo started next to Connelly against the Vikings on Sunday. Shurmur did say Ogletree and Davis are progressing.
“They are much closer than they were last week,” he said. “I think there’s a chance we could get both back, but we’ll just have to see what the week brings.”
Mayo spent his first four years in the NFL with the Panthers, starting three games last year. He was cut by the 49ers at the end of training camp and picked up by the Giants before the start of the regular season. In extended playing time against the Redskins, Mayo had eight tackles, four of the solo variety.
“I thought he played well,” Shurmur said.
Nate Stupar is another option if needed. He was brought back last week after the Giants cut him in early September. He played in 16 games last year for the Giants.
Jabrill Peppers attempted to jump into the crowd after his 32-yard pick-six in Sunday’s victory over the Redskins, but he didn’t quite make it.
“I was a little tired,” he said of his first interception with the Giants. “It looked a little better on film than I thought. I just wanted to show the home crowd a little love.”
If the safety scores again, he said he will give it another go.
“I’ll try to make it all the way up next time,” Peppers said.
Peppers got the ball as a keepsake and it included a Redskins logo. That is customary when defensive players score, as a reminder of the team the play came against. When offensive players get game balls to commemorate special plays it has their own team’s logo on it.
Shurmur said Saquon Barkley is out of the walking boot, as a photo the running back posted on social media suggested. But there was nothing new on a timetable for his return from a high ankle sprain he suffered in the Week 3 win over the Buccaneers. He was initially expected to miss six-to-eight weeks.
Linebacker Lorenzo Carter (neck) was forced out in the second half Sunday, but Shurmur doesn’t believe it will cost him any further time. The team thinks it is merely “game soreness” right now.
The Giants claimed defensive end Chris Peace off waivers from the Chargers to fill Connelly’s roster spot. Peace is an undrafted rookie out of Virginia.