Promising New York Giants Rookie Suffers Non-Contact Injury

Months after his departure, New York football fans are still mourning the loss of running back Saquon Barkley. They had to grapple with the thought of losing yet another one Tuesday morning when Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. was carted off the field.

Giants Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. Suffers Ankle Injury at Practice

While fielding a kickoff at practice, the 166th overall pick went down and wasn’t able to get back up. After muffing the kick, Tracy Jr. attempted to pick up the loose ball before crumbling to the ground. The Giants medical team soon had his right ankle wrapped up in an air cast and him on a cart exiting the field.

On the injury: Tyrone Tracy was deep as kickoff returner. Muffed the catch, reached down to pick the ball up and his lower leg buckled. You could tell it was serious from jump. He really had been working into a significant role on this offense behind Motor Singletary. #Giants100 https://t.co/PAO2444tFo

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) August 13, 2024

Tracy Jr. has already flashed enough skills to make you believe he’ll be an immediate impact player in New York’s offense this year. The Iowa and then Purdue product looked sharp in his team’s initial preseason game last week, rushing five times for 26 yards. He also forced four missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.

There’s still Eric Gray and Dante Miller to consider, who also rushed well in New York’s first preseason bout, but many expected Tracy Jr. to be a focal point in the committee of backs set to run behind Devin Singletary this year.

“I think he’s done a good job of really picking up all the little nuances, the protections, the identifications, the route concepts, the alignments,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said of Tracy Jr. earlier this summer. “He’s a smart player. I’m glad we got him. He’s got good size though. Good length. He’s done well for a young player that’s just entered into our program.”

All that will have to wait, however.

Here’s the Good News

While Tracy Jr. is sure to miss time, the Giants only diagnosed him with a “low ankle sprain” later on Tuesday, likely removing the possibility of a season-ending injury. It was then revealed that Tracy Jr. attended a few meetings that afternoon and Jordan Raanan of ESPN even called it a “relatively positive result.”

A low ankle sprain for RB Tyrone Tracy. Likely to miss some time but a relatively positive result given the possibilities.#Giants https://t.co/ldZ82nwJKv

— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 14, 2024

Whether or not Tracy Jr. will be ready for the Minnesota Vikings week one remains to be seen, though Art Stapleton of USA Today reportedly heard that it’s a Grade 2 sprain for Tracy Jr., which is considered “week to week,” typically takes 3-6 weeks to fully heal, but can vary depending on the person. New York’s opener is in three and a half weeks.

Luckily, Singletary also spoke with reporters Tuesday and seemed more than up for the task of handling a heavier load than initially expected to begin the season. Motor previously played for Daboll when they were both in Buffalo. The halfback wasn’t shy at all about his excitement to be in an offense led by him again.

It’s fun to be back in this offense,” Singletary said. “I feel like I’m gelling with the guys good. Man, you can do everything [in this system]. You can catch the ball out of the backfield. They’re going to hand you the ball off, obviously. You’ve got to be able to pass pro, but for me, pass pro is fun. I miss playing defense, so that’s the way of me to get that feeling to be able to hit somebody. But that’s the way it’s fun for a running back.”