Jackson ankle injury doesn’t seem serious
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When cornerback Adoree’ Jackson left the field Wednesday on a cart, at first it was feared the Giants would be without one of their key free-agent acquisitions for quite some time. That will not be the case.
Jackson has a sprained ankle, but it is not a high ankle sprain, and his availability for the Sept. 12 season opener against the Broncos should not be in danger.
GIANTS NOTES
“He’ll be with the trainers a little bit, we’ll see where we can ramp him up to,’’ head coach Joe Judge said Thursday. “Looks like we dodged a bullet right there, but we’ll see day by day how it is and we’ll move him around a little bit with the trainers.’’
Jackson did not participate in Thursday’s practice and likely will not be able to play in Sunday’s preseason finale against the Patriots.
The Giants openly were trying to deal Ryan Santoso, their strong-legged second kicker, and they finally got a taker. They traded Santoso to the Panthers for a conditional seventh-round 2022 draft pick. Judge went out of his way the past few days to praise Santoso, saying he is one of the best 32 kickers around and that, if not for the presence of veteran Graham Gano on the roster, Santoso would have been the Giants’ kicker.
Rookie WR Kadarius Toney continues to sit out as he tries to come back from a bout with COVID-19 and to recover from a hamstring issue.
“I’m not going to get into anybody’s individual medical right there, but this guy is getting better every day,’’ Judge said. “He’s working with our trainers and doing everything they ask him to do, so I’m pleased with the progress he’s making.’’
Judge could not be goaded into expressing anything in the way of sentiment or nostalgia about his return — he spent eight years with the Patriots before coming to the Giants. Judge, though, could not hold back when asked about Matthew Slater, one of the NFL’s best special teams players, a stalwart of Judge’s units in New England.
“He made me a better coach every day,’’ Judge said. “With someone so accomplished as Matt is and works as hard as he does that you’ve got to bring it every day. You can’t have an off day. You walk in slopping around and think you’re just going to give them some plate of whatever, they’re going to look at you and you’re done.
“In terms of my relationship with Matt, I have a lot of relationships with a lot of players on this team that I’ve coached. Obviously, my loyalty right now is with the Giants, but I would say if Matt needed a kidney tomorrow he’d have it tonight.’’