Giants star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux injured in preseason vs. Bengals

New York Giants rookie defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered a right knee injury in the second quarter of the team’s preseason game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night. He was hit low on a cut block by Bengals’ backup tight end Thaddeus Moss. The former Oregon star was lying on the field for a few minutes and being attended to by trainers, before heading into the locker room and medical tent. Trainers brought the cart out on the field, but he waved that off and walked off the field on his own power.

A reporter on the sideline during the NFL Network television broadcast reported that he suffered a knee injury and that he was ruled out for the rest of the Bengals game on Sunday evening. Thibodeaux was seen walking and smiling down the Giants sideline after spending a few minutes in the medical tent. He then took a trip to the locker room for further examination and treatment. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Sunday evening that it is his “understanding is there’s initial optimism he avoided a major injury.”

We’ll just have to wait and see what the further tests and evaluation on the standout defensive end reveal. As a first-round draft pick, obviously he’s expected to make a big impact this season and beyond for the Giants.

Kayvon Thibodeaux has high expectations for the 2022 season

The Giants selected Thibodeaux No. 5 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft and have high expectations for him this upcoming season and going forward. An Oregon product, Thibodeaux emerged as one of the most explosive edge rushers in college football over the past three season. As a freshman in 2019, he burst onto the scene with 35 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks. In 2020, he had 42 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. This past season, Thibodeaux had 49 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks, also forcing two fumbles.

Despite those impressive numbers, Kayvon Thibodeaux knows he has a lot to learn from Giants veterans.

“It’s been great learning from the guys,” he told Cersoslmo. “One person can’t do every move, so it’s been understanding what I can do and what’s good for me and my game. Then it’s fine-tuning everything I have. … The biggest challenge (heading into my rookie season) is understanding I can’t control everything. I can only control what I can control. Even though I want to do as much as I can, I can only do the task at hand, my job.”

Thibodeaux is expected to step in and contribute right away for a Giants defense that ranked 22nd in the NFL with 34 sacks this past season. New York also has a new head coach in Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator in Don “Wink” Martindale. The rookie defensive end already has a few goals in mind for next season, but also wants to make sure he doesn’t get ahead of himself.

“I don’t want to think too big. You have to compartmentalize the season,” he said. “If I could average at least one sack a game or contribute five to 10 tackles a game, then I’ll be good. That’s the smartest way to do it. You never want to look at the end. You always want to take it day by day. If you reach for the top, you’ll miss those steps right in front of you. So, I know if I take those small steps and get that one sack or five to 10 tackles a game, by the end of the season, I’ll be where I want to be.”

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.