No contingency plan has been put in place for Micah McFadden this week.
The Giants did not place McFadden on injured reserve last week and kept him in for the season opener, but out of an abundance of caution, opted to bench their top inside linebacker to replace workhorse Bobby Okereke.
He had been suffering from a groin injury since August 17th.
This was a long-term commitment with the remainder of the schedule in mind, starting with Sunday's game against the Commanders.
“I feel more confident now that I'm wearing pads. [Wednesday] Then run around and get full reps. [Thursday]”I think I'm ready,” McFadden said.
Sixth-round rookie Darius Muasau took McFadden's place and recorded six tackles (one for a loss) and one interception.
Muasau played well enough that the plan to attack McFadden and play him limited innings was not necessary.
“I'm taking the hits,” said McFadden, who missed training camp with an unrelated injury before being carried off on a stretcher for the second preseason game.
“Fortunately, it's been going well so far. When the injury first happened, we were talking about week two or three. It started to get better about the middle of last week.”
McFadden played 737 defensive snaps in 16 games (14 starts) last season.
When defensive coordinator Shane Bowen was asked how he would fill the No. 2 outside cornerback position with Week 1 starter Nick McCloud (knee) injured, he named cornerback Tre Hawkins as a candidate.
That's interesting considering Hawkins was inactive in Week 1.
Other options include Cordale Flott, who has played on the outside in camp but played more in the slot in Week 1, and Adore Jackson, who recently re-signed as a three-year starter.
Hawkins appeared in three games as a rookie last season but was benched by November.
“He's been working with us,” Bowen said, “and he played a little bit of a role last year.”
Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said the Giants called a punt down at the 1-yard line in practice last Friday and then replicated it in the game, with four players passing the ball like a hot potato at the goal line.
It started with the positioning of punter Jamie Gillan.
“I thought he played a really good game,” Ghobrial said, “and a 46.2 punt coverage unit would put him at the top of the league.”
