The football gods work in mysterious ways. You never know what they’ll do or when they’ll do it — but the completely fictitious puppet masters were at it again on Day 1 of New York Giants mandatory minicamp.
There’s plenty of hype floating around the Giants’ facility, and rightfully so. Upgrades across both sides of the ball have fans feeling better about where this team is headed than a year ago. While they might not be world beaters yet, progress is progress and that's really all you can ask for.
His connection with incoming quarterback Russell Wilson has been undeniable. The two have formed a bond, and for weeks it’s felt like Russ might finally be the guy to get Hyatt over the hump and out of draft-bust status.
Or so we thought. Because out of nowhere the cosmic forces of the football universe have delivered a perceived minor setback for Big Blue.
Jalin Hyatt's breakout season put on pause after apparent minicamp injury
Hyatt has been getting a lot of praise this offseason for coming in and looking (and performing) like a completely different person. He was finally starting to resemble the wide receiver the G-Men drafted out of Tennessee after winning the Biletnikoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football. Alas, his meteoric rise has come to an apparent, temporary stop.
The Athletic's Dan Duggan reported Jalin Hyatt's day ended about as quickly as it started during Day 1 of mandatory minicamp:
WR Jalin Hyatt left a drill early in practice and is getting his left leg stretched by a trainer. He then spoke to Daboll and appears done for the day.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) June 17, 2025
Welp... that's a bummer. While the injury didn't look serious, it's definitely not the best timing for Hyatt as he'll want all the time he can get to continue building on his impressive 2025 offseason.
The injury comes at an interesting time. He was shut down presumably for precautionary reasons. Why risk his health now? But the bigger storyline here is how Hyatt’s injury now runs parallel to Malik Nabers’ ongoing toe issue. The G-Men just cannot afford to have any of their promising playmakers taking time off. Not in an offseason with this much at stake. This was supposed to be the turning point.
When it's all said and done, this injury might amount to absolutely nothing. There's obviously no need to be worried yet, but it's definitely a slap in the face of Hyatt and his efforts to emerge as a reliable big-time playmaker for New York.
If the football gods really are pulling strings, they picked a heck of a time to start messing with a breakout that was finally within reach.
