The New York Giants suffered two devastating losses on Wednesday when it was revealed that rookie safety Xavier McKinney and linebacker David Mayo both suffered serious injuries that would require surgery.
McKinney, who fractured his foot, underwent his procedure on Wednesday afternoon at the Hospital For Special Surgery and is expected to sit out several months.
Mayo, meanwhile, suffered a torn meniscus and is scheduled to undergo his procedure on Thursday. However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that rather than a full repair, Mayo will have a meniscus trim, which should allow him to return in roughly three weeks.
For #Giants LB David Mayo, the expectation going into surgery is that it’ll be a meniscus trim, source said, rather than the full repair. That could put him back on the field in 3 weeks or so. https://t.co/k6dw2KzLMP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 26, 2020
While the loss of McKinney is the more damaging of the two, Mayo’s potential impact on the defense should not be overlooked.
Mayo was expected to compete for a starting role alongside Blake Martinez at inside linebacker, and appeared to have the advantage over Ryan Connelly, who has missed several practices in a row.
In 16 games (13 starts) last season, Mayo recorded 82 tackles, seven stuffs, two passes defensed and two sacks. That earned him a 72.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, including a 90.1 grade against the run.
