The New York Giants were back on the field on Friday for their final full practice ahead of a Week 10 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and all eyes were on wide receiver Golden Tate (knee) and running back Devonta Freeman (ankle).
Tate suffered a knee injury late during Thursday’s practice, which ultimately led to him missing his scheduled media availability. However, head coach Joe Judge dismissed the injury as minor and said he expects Tate to play on Sunday.
“It was just the end of practice. He just kind of bumped bodies with someone. We’re going to take a look at him today, see how he’s doing. We’re optimistic,” Judge told reporters. “But at the same time, I need to be fair to the player to give him an opportunity to go out there and see where he’s at physically. Look, the guy has had a tremendous week of practice. We’re looking forward to getting him on the grass Sunday. We’ll take a look at him today and see how he’s feeling.”
Tate also finally met with the media on Friday, and expressed a regret for causing the organization a distraction.
The news was not as positive when it came to Freeman, who suffered a reaggravation of his ankle injury during Thursday’s practice. He was not spotted on the field and has subsequently been ruled out.
It’s possible that the Giants place Freeman on injured reserve and officially activate rookie linebacker Tae Crowder (hamstring) at some point on Friday or Saturday.
“We haven’t fully decided yet,” Judge said of Crowder. “It’s something we’re going to talk about after practice today, the several roster moves that we’ve made recently, as well as some moves we want to make for the game. We’ll have some conversations after practice. We need to see where some guys are physically today after letting them practice for a couple of days.”
Meanwhile, Tate and cornerback Isaac Yiadom (calf), who was a late addition to the injury report, have been listed as questionable.
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams (not injury related), safety Logan Ryan (not injury related) and wide receiver Sterling Shepard (hip/toe) did not receive a designation and are expected to play vs. Philly.
