Raheem Layne‘s Giants campaign has come to an end shortly after made his season debut. The third-year safety suffered a torn meniscus on Sunday, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports. 
Layne made 11 total appearances with the Chargers between 2022 and ’23. During that time, the former UDFA played a key special teams role, something which helped land him a deal with the Giants this summer. Layne did not survive New York’s roster cuts, but he was retained on the practice squad. He was used as a gameday elevation for each of the past two weeks, allowing him to see partial playing time on defense and special teams.
During the Giants’ loss to the Falcons in Week 16, however, Layne went down with what has proven to be another season-ending knee injury. The 25-year-old tore his ACL last October, and he spent much of this past offseason rehabbing as a result. Layne had the opportunity to compete for a spot with the Giants upon returning to health, but in very short order he has now been dealt another major blow on that front.
The Indiana product will once again turn his attention to recovery once surgery to repair the damage takes place. Layne is a pending restricted free agent, and his injury greatly reduces his chances of being tendered by the Giants this offseason. If he does reach the open market, his value will of course not be high in the eyes of teams looking for defensive back depth.
The safety position has been a sore spot this season for the Giants, and it is one of many which are likely to witness considerable roster turnover in the near future. It remains to be seen if general manager Joe Schoen will be in place to oversee that process, but in any event Layne’s opportunity to audition for a 2025 role has come to an abrupt end.