The Giants will place long snapper Zak DeOssie on season-ending injured reserve Saturday to promote long snapper Colin Holba from the practice squad, a source told The Post.
DeOssie was not at practice or in the locker room Friday because he was getting his knee examined. That exam revealed a torn meniscus, the source said.
“Zak’s been a guy around here who has played at a high level,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “He’s a big-time Giant, and I’m sure he’s played through soreness in his career.”
DeOssie, 35, is a 2007 draft pick, the second-longest-tenured Giant (after Eli Manning) and a two-time Super Bowl champion whose career is now in jeopardy.
The Giants listed DeOssie on the injury report for the first time Thursday, saying he hurt his knee Nov. 17 against the Jets.
“He was just fighting through it, being a tough guy,” Shurmur said.
Julian Love’s first NFL defensive play came against Tom Brady.
His first start will come Sunday against Aaron Rodgers.
Is Peyton Manning coming out of retirement anytime soon?
With safety Jabrill Peppers sidelined with a back injury he sustained last week at Chicago, Love will become the eighth member of the 10-pick Giants’ 2019 draft class to start as a rookie when the Packers visit MetLife Stadium.
Rodgers will face a secondary with four first-year players, including cornerbacks Sam Beal, DeAndre Baker and Corey Ballentine.
“We know he’s an intelligent quarterback,” Love said. “We just have to be communicating at a high level. Our best plays are when we are in a cohesive unit in the back end — not letting anybody run free.”
Love played three total defensive snaps, in addition to special teams, in the first 10 games of the season, but began getting first-team practice snaps during the bye week. He saw an increased workload against the Bears last week in three-safety packages before Peppers’ injury.
The challenge just got steeper.
“It’s crazy, for sure,” Love said. “[Teammate] Michael Thomas always told me, ‘It takes one play and you go from no snaps to all the snaps.’ I was ready for it.”
Love looked like a center fielder settling under a pop-up on his interception of Mitchell Trubisky, a sign of the fourth-round pick’s growing comfort level after making the transition from cornerback at Notre Dame to Giants safety.
“Getting some reps off the bye, knowing I needed to show something more,” Love said. “I didn’t want to be stagnant. It helped me reset and realize I need to get this going and be that dependable guy they need.”
TEs Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) and WR Golden Tate (concussion) also were ruled out. With Tate and Peppers out, Da’Mari Scott, who played in his first three career NFL games in 2018, will return punts despite only doing so seven times in college at Fresno State.
“He has very good open-field run skills,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. “He’s a talented kid. Trust me on that.”