The New York Giants will open their 2020 regular season by hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football in less than three weeks from today and on Wednesday they suffered a big blow to their defense when they lost two expected starters for an extended amount of time due to injuries.
According to the Giants, linebacker David Mayo and safety Xavier McKinney both suffered injuries recently that will require surgery. Mayo has a torn meniscus in his left knee while McKinney, the team’s second round draft choice out of Alabama, has suffered a fracture to his left foot. Both were expected to be starters this season.
With McKinney now sidelined, second year defensive back Julian Love might be asked to take his place in the starting lineup. The Giants secondary is a mess as earlier in the offseason they lost two of their starting cornerbacks in DeAndre Baker and Sam Beal.
As for the Giants losing Mayo to injury, second-year linebacker Ryan Connelly could be the one asked to replace him in the starting lineup.
It will be interesting to see if the Giants soon address one or both positions by signing experienced street free agents. Even if they were to go that route, however, there’s not a lot of time for a new player to learn the defense between now and the Giants opening game against the Steelers.
