In fact, the next five “meaningless” games could shape much of the evaluation of Kayvon Thibodeau and his future.
A season that started with Thibodeau eyeing Michael Strahan's NFL single-season sack record ends with him trying to grab a guy far down the leaderboard, Michael Hecht (Rams defensive tackle with three sacks). It turns out.
Like almost everything else with the Giants in 2024, Thibodeau's season didn't go as expected. From a quiet start in two games to suffering a fractured scaphoid that required surgery on his wrist and missing five games just when he seemed to be getting better. above.
Thibodeau had at least a half-sack in three consecutive games before being sidelined.
He has zero sacks in the two games since his return, giving him two sacks for the season.
“It's very important to finish strong,” Thibodeau said. “I'm certainly hungry. I still have a lot of work to do, focusing on finishing strong and continuing to make an impact.”
Thibodeau will be eligible for a contract extension for the first time in his career after the season.
The timing couldn't have come at a better time than last season, when the Pro Bowl miss recorded 11.5 sacks, the most for the Giants since 2014.
General manager Joe Schon (who replaced left tackle Andrew Thomas after a three-season hiatus) may want to double down on Thibodeau as a trademark draft pick.
Offensive tackle Evan Neal (No. 7 in 2022) still looks bad, 2023 first-round cornerback Deonte Banks regressed in his second year, and Coach Schoen's second-round pick in 2022 and 2023. None of the first-round players and third-rounders have lived up to expectations.
“The Giants should try to offer him early, but it would be a near impossible deal,” CBS Sports contract analyst and former NFL agent Joel Colley told the Post. “If I were him, I would wait for something to change.” [inflating] pass rush market. Given what happened this year, it stands to reason that the Giants won't give Thibodeau the terms they expect, so Thibodeau has no incentive to make a deal. ”
The last five games for the Giants (2 wins, 10 losses), without the playoffs, are an opportunity for Thibodeau to expand his presence as a leader.
The Giants are without three of their original five captains after season-ending injuries to Thomas and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and the release of quarterback Daniel Jones.
“This is not a long league,” Thibodeau said. “So to say you have to wait until a certain amount of time to become a leader is like smoke and mirrors. [career] It's only been 3 years. …I’m a guy who believes this is a meritocracy. In other words, if you create theater, you have a say. If you don't create theater, you have no voice. That's the name of the store. ”
The Giants' grand plan this season was to double-team Lawrence while also creating a situation that poisoned an offensive line trying to help Thibodeau and Brian Burns come off the edge.
Thibodeau was supposed to be the biggest beneficiary, which is why he said in May, “Every time I come here, I try to beat Michael Strahan's record of 22.5 sacks, which was set in 2001.''
Even if he doesn't meet his goals, Thibodeau's approach to setting high goals remains the same.
“Every year when you get into this situation, you're probably asking, 'How's the season going?' With my goals,” Thibodeau said. “The reality is, you just have to keep shooting for the stars. Keep trying. As long as your daily habits reflect your goals, I think you're in a good place. So regardless of the results, I'm going to continue to get better over the next five weeks. I'll give it my all. Hopefully I'll come out in a better place.”
Without the help of Lawrence (dislocated elbow) and his team-leading nine sacks, things will be harder than usual for Thibodeau and Barnes.
The “now or never'' mentality that Thibodeau, 23, said entering the season was, of course, an exaggeration.
The Giants will likely pick up the fifth-year option on Thibodeau's rookie contract before the May deadline to ensure he remains under team control through the 2026 season.
If Thibodeau has a big year in 2025, the Giants could be in a financial position to keep three defensive linemen on big contracts.
That might not have been the case if Jones was still around, but a reset of quarterbacks to rookies, perhaps in 2025 or 2026, would create salary cap room.
It's up to Thibodeau to seize it. I'll start anew now.
“We won't be paying the quarterback, so we'll be able to afford him,” Collie said.
