After falling into the lap of the New York Giants in this year’s NFL Draft, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux seemed set to become a first-year starter for the G-Men.
However, that plan could be temporarily put on ice as the former Oregon Ducks player is set to be out for the next few weeks.
Thibodeaux injured his knee in a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals and did not return for the rest of the game.
After initial fears of more serious injuries, like ligament tears, doctors diagnosed Thibodeaux with only a sprained MCL as his ACL and meniscus stayed intact.
Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered a knee injury in a recent preseason game
The incident occurred in the second quarter of the game with the Bengals in the red zone.
As Thibodeaux turned the corner to make a tackle on Bengals running back Chris Evans, Cincinnati tight end Thaddeus Moss went for a low block on Thibodeaux.
Because Thibodeaux’s injuries aren’t as severe, he could be back in time for the team’s season opener against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
Reactions across the internet were mixed, with former NFL players chiming in on both sides of the issue.
Former linebacker and Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho called the hit ‘ridiculous, dangerous, and cowardly! Straight cowardly.’
In response to Acho – and in defense of Moss, former NFL tight end Jake Butt said this play is more common than outsiders think.
‘This is a standard, every day cut block by the TE. As soon as you see the down tackle or TE sift up you should expect a cut,’ Butt said on Twitter.
‘It’s run multiple times a game by every team. Nothing cowardly about it. Glad Thibodeaux is ok but this is part of the game.’
Butt added in later tweets, ‘Football is inherintly dangerous. Sometimes this happens. Most of the time it doesn’t. We can’t keep taking things out of the game.
‘It’s too fast and too hard to ask of these players to make split second decisions. A cut block happens 500x every season and is never discussed.
‘1000 cut blocks happen every year with no outrage. Most people wouldn’t even know what to be mad at without Twitter. Sheesh.’
Thankfully for Giants fans, the injury should only keep Thibodeaux out the next 3-4 weeks