Former Giant Nate Ebner withdraws bid compete at the Tokyo Olympics

A football injury ends Ebner’s Olympic hopes, could fuel return to Giants

Former New York Giants safety and special teams ace Nate Ebner had aspirations to represent the United States on the world stage. Ebner, also known as a world-class rugby player, was competing for a place on the USA Men’s rugby team.

Unfortunately, Ebner released a statement Tuesday announcing his withdrawal from consideration for this summer’s Olympic Games.

Ebner was originally drafted into the NFL out of Ohio State in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has been an excellent special teams player since walking onto the Ohio State football team as an inexperienced junior. Ebner had already been an experienced rugby player who competed at the international level and quickly gained a reputation for his special teams acumen and fierce work ethic.

Ebner came to the Giants, nominally as a safety, with head coach — and former Patriots special teams coordinator — Joe Judge in 2020. He proved a special teams maven for the Giants and a valuable presence on kick coverage teams. Unfortunately, Ebner suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of the Giants’ week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It’s unknown if that is the injury which required surgery and ended his Olympic hopes, but while he is still a free agent, we certainly hope that Ebner is able to return to health soon. His withdrawal from the Olympics could lead to a return to the Giants.