Ryan Connelly‘s promising time as a starter appears to have ended in devastating fashion. The Giants fear the rookie linebacker tore his ACL in their win over the Redskins, a source told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.
It isn’t official yet but since field tests for ACL tears are extremely accurate, he almost certainly is out for the season. It’s a really tough blow for New York, as they’re already quite thin at linebacker. Alec Ogletree and Tae Davis both are dealing with injuries at the moment, which thrust Connelly into the starting role. Connelly was playing really well before going down, notching a sack and an interception.
He also had an interception in their win over the Buccaneers last week, and was looking like a potential key piece of the defense moving forward. The Giants drafted Connelly in the fifth round, 143rd overall, back in April. New York has been rejuvenated by the insertion of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, and they now sit at 2-2. They’re right back in the thick of things, but the defense is now very banged up.
That stinks. Connelly looks like he could be a good player. Hopefully his recovery goes well and will be apart of the future for this defense.