‘Slightly Alarming’ Giants Injury Emerges After First Preseason Outing

The New York Giants’ snap count leader on the defensive side was cornerback Nic Jones during the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills, and it seems an injury was the reason for that.

After initially calling the first-team reps at nickel CB a “good sign” for Jones, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan amended that statement a bit on August 10.

“Less of a good sign for Jones than it appeared in the moment,” Duggan relayed on X. “[Giants head coach Brian] Daboll said Dru Phillips was hurt, so Jones was the next man up. Looked like Phillips got shaken up trying to make a tackle on third down on Buffalo’s first drive.”

In a follow-up post, the NYG beat reporter shared a video clip of the play in question, noting: “This was Phillips’ last play. Slightly alarming because he dealt with a shoulder injury last year, but Daboll didn’t provide any details on what happened yesterday.”

It seems Giants fans will have to wait and see if Phillips takes the practice field at all this week, but based on him being limited to just 3 snaps in the preseason opener, it would not be shocking if he’s sidelined for a few days of training camp — if not longer.

Giants Cannot Afford to Lose Dru Phillips to Injury After Nic Jones’ Preseason Showing vs. Bills

The Giants are already without Cor’Dale Flott at cornerback. Flott had been competing with Deonte Banks for a starting CB job alongside Paulson Adebo and Phillips, but the veteran draft pick has been missing from practice in recent days, and he did not suit up for the preseason opener either.

Daboll has kept all injury information very close to the vest at Giants training camp, so it’s unclear if Flott’s ailment is anything that could seriously threaten his Week 1 status.

With that in mind, Big Blue cannot afford to lose Phillips, especially if Flott is banged up as well.

The Giants’ cornerback depth isn’t great to begin with, and it gets very shaky behind Adebo, Banks, Phillips, and Flott. Jones, for example, did not have a good showing against Buffalo, according to Pro Football Focus.

PFF noted that Jones was responsible for allowing all 6 of his targets to be caught for a team-leading 82 yards against in coverage. That all added up to a brutal cumulative passer rating of 158.3 when Jones was targeted by an opposing quarterback.

To make matters worse, Jones was also charged with 1 missed tackle, 1 touchdown against, and 1 penalty. Needless to say, if he’s the next line of defense after Phillips and Flott, that’s not ideal.

Could Giants Trade for a Veteran Cornerback?

While engaging with fans on social media, Duggan acknowledged that he could see the Giants trading for a cornerback before Week 1.

“We will be looking for a cb2 come cut down day,” a fan predicted.

To which Duggan responded: “Tough to find on cut day. But a trade wouldn’t shock me if things don’t turn around there.”

The Giants had a nice first preseason game against the Bills overall, but the biggest concern from the 2025 debut might be the health and performance of the cornerback room.

Banks actually put together a quietly strong effort on Saturday, registering a low passer rating against of 46.5 on 20 defensive snaps. Per PFF, the former first-round pick was targeted 3 times, allowing just 1 catch for 12 yards. He also missed 1 tackle.

If Banks keeps playing like that and Adebo stays healthy, the Giants won’t need to trade for a CB2, but trading for better depth is not out of the question.