Theo Johnson’s promising rookie season could be over.
The Giants tight end suffered a foot injury during Thursday’s 27-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys that head coach Brian Daboll said will likely keep him out “long term.”
“There are a few more tests, but I definitely think there’s a potential of [the injury ending his season],” Daboll said Friday during a virtual press conference.
Johnson finished Thursday with five receptions for a career-high 54 yards, which both ranked second on the team.
He played 89% of the offensive snaps and ran a route on the Giants’ final offensive play — an eight-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Drew Lock with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter.
But Johnson was visibly frustrated in the locker room after Thursday’s game, as he threw a pair of shoes at the wall before sitting down and putting his head in his hands. Johnson’s injury was not known at the time.
Johnson, a fourth-round pick out of Penn State in April’s draft, has 29 receptions for 331 yards and a touchdown in 12 games this season.
He’s become more featured in the offense as the season has progressed. Thursday marked the 6-6 tight end’s fourth consecutive game with at least five targets.
Johnson has helped pick up some of the production vacated by Darren Waller, who retired in the offseason after one year with the Giants.
Next up on the depth chart are Daniel Bellinger, who has three receptions for 31 yards in his third season with the Giants, and nine-year NFL veteran Chris Manhertz, a Bronx-born blocking tight end.
Earlier this week, the Giants clamied tight end Greg Dulcich off waivers from the Denver Broncos. Dulcich, a 2022 third-round pick by the Broncos, made 41 catches for 464 yards and two touchdowns over 16 games with Denver.
Johnson was not the only Giant to suffer a potentially season-ending injury against the Cowboys. Star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence sustained a dislocated left elbow that Daboll also anticipated being a “long-term” injury.
QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL
Daboll said Friday he has not decided who will start at quarterback for the Giants when they host the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 8, echoing comments he made after Thursday’s loss.
Tommy DeVito got the first crack at the starting job after Daniel Jones was released last week. However, a forearm injury that DeVito suffered in Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept him out of Thursday’s game against Dallas.
Lock started in his place and led two touchdown drives against the Cowboys, but he also committed two costly turnovers.
“We just got done watching this tape,” Daboll said Friday. “We’ll see where we’re at. We’ll see where Tommy’s at, see where Drew’s at.”
DeVito said after Thursday’s game that he believed he would have been able to play had the Giants faced the Cowboys on Sunday.
He completed 21-of-31 passes for 189 yards and did not commit a turnover against Tampa Bay, but the Giants did not score until the fourth quarter.
Lock completed 21-of-32 passes for 178 yards and an interception and also rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown. Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown returned Lock’s second-quarter interception for a touchdown, then recovered his third-quarter fumble, leading to another Dallas touchdown.
“We’ll evaluate the two games that both of those guys played,” Daboll said Friday. “I thought Drew did some good things yesterday. You’ve gotta, obviously, clean up the turnovers. … We’ve got to make sure we’re taking care of the ball, but I thought he gave the guys a chance downfield, made some plays.”
