New York Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas will be out for the season after having surgery on his right foot to fix a Lisfranc injury, coach Brian Daboll confirmed on Wednesday.
Thomas, who signed a five-year, $117.5 million contract in 2023, got hurt late in a 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night. A Lisfranc injury happens in the middle of the foot when one of the small bones is broken or sprained, or the ligaments that support that area are torn.
“You can’t replace an Andrew Thomas,” Daboll said. “I feel terrible for him. I was able to text with him today. He had his surgery this morning, everything was successful. He’s a leader, he’s a captain, he’s great in the locker room, he’s a very good football player.”
The Giants (2-4) started practicing on Wednesday for their home game against the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2), with Jermaine Eluemunor playing right tackle and Joshua Ezeudu on the left side in place of Thomas.
Daboll mentioned that Evan Neal, who has been the starting right tackle since being drafted seventh in 2022, might still be an option if the Giants decide to move Eluemunor to the left side. If that happens, either Neal or Ezeudu would start on the right side.
Eluemunor has switched positions during his career and is open to doing it again.
“I think people kind of don’t understand how hard it is, mentally and physically,” said the former Raider who joined the Giants as a free agent in the offseason. “I don’t really know how to compare it to anything just in regular life. But just thinking about, you’re used to doing something a certain way, and then out of nowhere with like two, three days’ notice, you have to switch it.”
Neal has faced challenges on the field in his career and missed the later part of last season and the start of training camp due to ankle surgery.
This is the first time Neal has not been a starter, and he’s trying to learn from this experience.
“I look at the situation I’m in, and obviously it’s not ideal for me, being that I do want to play, but it’s what I’m asked to do right now and I’m going to embrace this role,” he said. “I’m going to go out there and practice and get better every day. Push my teammates and continue to be who I am and work hard.”
Ezeudu, a third-round pick in 2022, played left tackle last season after Thomas got injured in the opening game. He said he will be ready for whatever comes on Sunday.
“In college I used to play three positions in a single game,” he said. “So I don’t think I have to prepare because I feel like that’s just something I’ve been used to. And even though I haven’t done it (in the NFL), you could say I feel like I have done it though.”
Daboll said he will decide on Friday how his offensive line will look for Sunday’s game.
Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers was back at practice, wearing a non-contact red jersey. He has missed the last two games due to a concussion.
Wearing the red jersey means Nabers is getting closer to coming out of the concussion protocol; the final step is to be cleared by an independent neurologist. Since he is still in the protocol, he is not available for interviews.
“Malik has made progress,” Daboll said. “Good progress where he’s able to come out here today and practice. He’ll have a red jersey on, but he passed some of the steps that he needed to do. He’s better, which is a good thing. So, we’ll see. We’ll go through today. I’m optimistic, but I’m not going to push anything.”
Nabers led the league with 35 catches after four weeks before getting injured in a game against Dallas on September 26.
