New York Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence dislocated his elbow in the team's 27-20 loss on Thanksgiving Day to the Dallas Cowboys and was placed on injured reserve (IR) this week.
No Lawrence in the middle of the Giants' defensive line is a scary proposition considering how teams have destroyed them in the running game even with Lawrence on the field.
Now comes the unenviable task of filling the role of big man. Lawrence has played 73 percent of the defensive snaps this season, more than any Giants defensive linemen.
In addition to Lawrence being out, Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck), who is second to Lawrence in playing time this year, is also not practicing, and backups DJ Davidson and DL Jordon Riley were limited on Wednesday.
Head coach Brian Daboll was asked what the plan was for the team's final five games.
“You can’t replace Dexter,” he said. “I would say we have a number of injuries in defense at the moment so we have a lot of young players who need to do that. They have worked hard to continue to improve.
“(Andre Patterson) did a good job with them, but you'll never replace Dexter and we'll see where Nacho is, DJ too. At this point some people are injured. These young people need to do their best and do their best.”
The Giants' depth chart is currently sketchy. Daboll said Nacho could be “week-to-week,” leaving Davidson and Riley as starters with rookie Elijah Chatman and recently signing Cory Durden as the others in the rotation.
Chatman was a surprise in training camp this summer when he arrived as an undersized, undrafted free agent out of SMU and was with the club all season. He was on the field and played 28 percent of the snaps as a starter. He will see the field more frequently over the next month.
“Yeah, I would say we used him more in passing situations,” Daboll said. “Of course we had to use him a lot in the last game. He has speed.
“A smaller guy, but fast and powerful. He has to do a good job like everyone else, both in the run and in the pass. Riley, we'll see where he is, he'll be limited. DJ Davidson, then you have guys on the practice squad, Casey (Rogers), (Elijah) Garcia and Durden that we just signed. So there are a lot of young people who need to step up.”
This will be another real test of the Giants' roster flexibility this year. The hope for them is that they will bend but not break here.