Shane Lemieux was limited to just one game last season, and injuries have once again become a problem before the 2022 campaign has begun. The Giants’ o-lineman will not play in Week 1, as confirmed by head coach Brian Daboll (Twitter link via Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano). 
Worse still, Daboll also said that “I wouldn’t anticipate him anytime soon.” That is unfortunate news for the Giants, given Lemieux’s projected role as the team’s starting left guard. It is also, of course, a disappointing development from the 25-year-old’s perspective, given his recent past.
Lemieux underwent season-ending knee surgery last September, which dealt a serious blow to New York’s offensive line. The unit as a whole was ravaged by injury, and struggled throughout the season. The Oregon alum has made just 13 appearances across his first two years in the league, though 10 of those have been starts. He earned a PFF grade of just 32 as a rookie, but has done enough in practices since to maintain a first-team position.
This latest issue stems from a foot injury the fifth-rounder suffered during the team’s first preseason contest. The fact that he has already been ruled out for the regular season opener points to an IR stint being possible; in that event, he would miss at least the first four games of the campaign. That is already the case for tackles Matt Peart and Nick Gates.
Third-round rookie Joshua Ezeudu and 2021 trade acquisition Ben Bredeson are among the candidates to replace Lemieux, both of whom are dealing with injuries of their own. In any event, the Giants will once again be without an offensive starter for at least a few weeks.
Jesus, and I thought the 49ers had it bad on their OL…If I read that correctly, the article is saying they already have 2 on the short term IR, they might add Lemieux to that list, and then they have two other OL that are dealing with injuries as well!?! Yikes..
While I like his toughness and grit, Lemieux is just not an NFL caliber OL. He graded out as the worst, yes, dead last, OL in the league 2 years ago. Only made through 1 games last year and one series in preseason this year. He Is constantly injured and is absolutely horrible and overmatched in pass protection. Not a big loss, sadly. Keep him on IR, then cut him after the year for the cap saving.
Man it seems like the Giants have more injuries than the average every single year. I didn’t think much of Lemieux when he was healthy but certainly missing all this time won’t make him better.