Photo: Getty Images
New York Giants top rookie pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux will reportedly miss three weeks of action due to a knee injury sustained in the team's 25-22 preseason win against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday (August 21), sources with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network Senior Insider Ian Rapoport.
"#Giants pass-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux has a sprained MCL, source said. The ACL is intact. But out about three weeks," Rapoport tweeted on Monday (August 22).
Thibodeaux's recovery timeline allows for a possible NFL regular-season debut in Week 1 or Week 2 and avoids the lengthy recovery period brought on by a major knee injury, which was ultimately the team's biggest fear on Sunday after a low, but legal, hit in which his right knee appeared to bend inward during the preseason game on Sunday.
Thibodeaux managed to walk off the field under his own power before receiving additional treatment from trainers in a medical tent and later going back to the locker room.
The 21-year-old had appeared in 15 snaps during Sunday's game, which included recording one tackle.
Thibodeaux had a decorated three-year collegiate career at Oregon, which included winning Pac-12 Defensive Fresman Player of the Year in 2019 and the Morris Trophy -- annually awarded to the best offensive and defensive lineman in the Pac-12 -- in 2020, as well as being a first-team All-Pac-12 selection twice (2020, 2021) and a unanimous All-American in 2021.