Toney will not play in season finale

As had been anticipated throughout the week, the season is over for New York Giants rookie Kadarius Toney. The team’s first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft will not play in Sunday’s season final due to a shoulder injury.

Toney played in just 10 games. He had 39 receptions in 57 targets (a 68.4 catch percentage) for 420 yards, an average of 10.8 yards per reception. He did not score a touchdown.

Toney missed time with COVID-19 twice, a hamstring injury, a quad injury, a shoulder injury and also suffered a thumb injury.

It was an abbreviated, unsatisfying first NFL season for the 22-year-old.

Wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said this week that Toney, about whom there were maturity concerns coming out of college, is still “working on” being a pro.

“I think he’s working on that. I think he’s working on it, like all rookies are. You could ask that about any rookie in the NFL, and they’ll say well they’re working on that. He’s no different than any other rookie. He’s working on it. He’s learning from some vets. He’s learning from the coaches of how to do things, from the trainers – it’s a work in progress,” Tolbert said. “You can’t come into the NFL as a rookie and say, ‘Okay, I’m a pro.’ You could say that, but it’s a process you have to go through in order to, ‘be a pro,’ and I think he’s working through that. I think he’s going in the right direction. The needle is pointing up in that situation.”

Part of that, according to Tolbert, is learning how to take care of his body to handle the rigors of an NFL season.

“He has to take care of his body a little more, learn from other guys, what kind of routine they have and pray and stay healthy. It’s a tough business, it’s a physical business and it’s collision on every snap,” Tolbert said. “So, you have to do the best you can to be able to maintain your body whether it’s nutrition, whether it’s being with the trainers, whether it’s massages, whatever. Just do whatever you can to make sure your body is in the best possible condition to go out there and play.”

Friday injury report

Giants

Out

WR Kadarius Toney (shoulder)
QB Mike Glennon (wrist)
WR John Ross (knee)

Questionable

WR Collin Johnson (hamstring)
OL Will Hernandez (ankle)
FB Cullen Gillaspia (knee)

Football Team

Out

OL Saahdiq Charles (knee)
WR Curtis Samuel (hamstring)
TE Ricky Seals-Jones (concussion)
Edge Montez Sweat (personal)

Questionable

TE Sammis Reyes (hamstring)

THURSDAY

It looks increasingly like the season is over for Kadarius Toney, the New York Giants’ 2021 first round draft pick who has had an abbreviated, curious rookie season. Toney, who did not play last week and has missed four of the past five games for a variety of reasons, did not practice on Thursday due to a shoulder injury.

Selected No. 20 overall following a trade down from No. 11, Toney has played in just 10 games. He has 39 receptions in 57 targets (a 68.4 catch percentage) for 420 yards, an averaged of 10.8 yards per reception. He has not scored a touchdown.

Toney has missed time with COVID-19 twice, a hamstring injury, a quad injury, a shoulder injury and also suffered a thumb injury. The Giants have not gotten nearly the production they hoped for from the former Florida Gator.

Thursday’s full injury report is below.

Giants Thursday injury report

Did not practice

LB Lorenzo Carter (illness)
FB Cullen Gillaspia (knee)
QB Mike Glennon (left wrist)
DL Austin Johnson (foot)
WR John Ross (knee)
LB Elerson Smith (neck — placed on injured reserve 1/5)
WR Kadarius Toney (shoulder)

Limited participation

RB Saquon Barkley (ankle)
OL Korey Cunningham (COVID ramp up)
OL Will Hernandez (ankle)
WR Collin Johnson (hamstring)
DL Dexter Lawrence (COVID ramp up)
TE Kyle Rudolph (ankle)
DL Danny Shelton (COVID ramp up)
WR Darius Slayton (shoulder/COVID ramp up)
OL Andrew Thomas (shoulder)

WEDNESDAY

If you’re attending the New York Giants game Sunday against the Washington Football Team, I would suggest buying a program. Watching on TV? Go to the team’s website before kickoff and print out a roster. The Giants have a lengthy injury list and there is no telling who will be on the field for the season finale.

What does head coach Joe Judge expect from his beaten-up, bedraggled 4-12 team in its final game of the year?

“The same thing I would expect from the first game, the absolute same thing I’d expect. We tell the guys all the time, ‘Come in, be locked in. We’re playing for each other as a team,’ “ Judge said. “I expect to see them in the meetings fully prepared. Done a good job this morning of that. Expect to see them in the practices going out there and practicing with intensity, energy and urgency working on fundamentals, making sure we correct any mistakes as we go through the week from the film study and the next day corrections. And I expect to see the effort from the opening kickoff to the final whistle from our team. That’s how we play around here.”

Giants Wednesday injury report

Did not participate

FB Cullen Gillaspia (knee)
QB Mike Glennon (wrist)
DL Austin Johnson (foot)
WR Collin Johnson (hamstring)
DL Dexter Lawrence (not injury related – personal/COVID ramp up)
WR John Ross (knee)
LB Elerson Smith (neck)

Limited participation

RB Saquon Barkley (ankle)
OL Korey Cunningham (COVID ramp up)
OL Will Hernandez (ankle)
TE Kyle Rudolph (ankle)
DL Danny Shelton (COVID ramp up)
WR Darius Slayton (shoulder/COVID ramp up
OL Andrew Thomas (shoulder)
WR Kadarius Toney (shoulder)