New York Giants News and Rumors: Andrew Thomas Back at Practice, Jonathan Taylor Trade Buzz, Dennard Wilson
Updated: 13 minutes ago
Published Oct 22, 2026, 10:34 PM ET | By Vincent Rapisardi
Thursday's Giants news started on the practice field, where Andrew Thomas, Jermaine Eluemunor and Marcus Mbow all returned before JJ McCarthy's first start Sunday in Houston. The Jonathan Taylor trade talk also gained momentum, and Dennard Wilson delivered a blunt message about effort on defense. Here is every story Big Blue Film Room published on Oct. 22, 2026, most important first.
Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) and Marcus Mbow (knee) all practiced Thursday after sitting out Wednesday, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan. USA Today's Art Stapleton said the three were "participating to some degree in position drills during the media viewing period," per NBC Sports. The Giants' official Thursday report will list each player's participation level, and game designations come with Friday's report.
The return matters for more than depth. According to PFF, Eluemunor has won 96.7% of his pass-blocking reps, the highest rate of any NFL offensive tackle this season. He has allowed three pressures, including one sack, on 161 pass-blocking snaps, and his 81.3 PFF pass-blocking grade ranks seventh among 74 qualified tackles. New York re-signed him in March to a three-year, $39 million contract with $25.45 million guaranteed, per Over The Cap. The caveat is sample size: he has played five games, and Mbow started in his place against the Saints.
The Jonathan Taylor conversation picked up two new voices Thursday. SNY's Connor Hughes wrote in his Giants mailbag that "the Giants will likely try to add to the running back room before the trade deadline," adding, "It's just a matter of if they can do anything." Hughes called Cam Skattebo "a nice complement to a bell cow" but "not a No. 1 back," and he believes landing Taylor could cost at least a Day 2 pick, per Yardbarker.
Earlier in the day, PFF's Mark Chichester named a Giants trade for Taylor one of his 10 fairytale trades before the deadline. Taylor's 67.3 PFF rushing grade ranks 16th of 27 qualified backs this season, while Giants running backs rank 30th as a group. PFF also wrote that the Colts "probably won’t be inclined to trade Taylor." Both pieces are an expectation and a hypothetical, not reports of talks with Indianapolis. The trade deadline is Nov. 10.
Dennard Wilson did not soften his review of the Week 6 performance. The Giants' defensive coordinator said Thursday that players who don't run to the football are "traitors, traitors to the defense," and he called some of what he saw against the Saints "unacceptable." The Athletic's Dan Duggan reported that Wilson vowed the issue has been addressed and that players will be "flying around 100 mph" this week.
The numbers explain the frustration. New Orleans ran 38 times for 175 yards, 4.6 yards per carry, after averaging 2.9 in its previous two games, according to Giants.com. The Saints scored 34 unanswered points after a 10-0 Giants lead. The caveat is context: the Giants committed four turnovers, so the defense often worked on a short field. "If you don't change the behaviors, we have to change the players," Wilson said, per Duggan. He did not name any player or announce lineup changes before Sunday's 1 p.m. ET game at Houston.
Abdul Carter is tied for the top pass rush win rate among NFL edge rushers, at 36%, in ESPN Analytics' win rate rankings, updated through Week 6. He has 34 wins on 95 pass-rush plays, matching Miami's Chop Robinson. As a team, the Giants rank fourth in pass rush win rate at 59%, per ESPN. The metric uses NFL Next Gen Stats tracking data to measure how often a rusher beats his block within 2.5 seconds.
The ranking fits the rest of his profile. Carter owns an 87.9 overall grade from PFF, the third-best mark among NFL edge rushers, with 21 total pressures by PFF's charting. The box score is more modest: two sacks and nine pressures, according to Pro Football Reference. That gap is the open question for the second-year outside linebacker, especially with Brian Burns on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in Week 3. Turning quick wins into sacks is the next step against Houston.
Big Blue Film Room also published a week-by-week guide to the Giants' backfield, built on snap counts and rushing totals from Pro Football Reference. Cam Skattebo played at least 59% of the offensive snaps in each of the first five games, then 8% against New Orleans after his costly late fumble in the 27-27 tie at Washington. He still has 81 carries for 294 yards, more than the other three backs combined.
As a group, Giants running backs have 138 carries for 472 yards through six games, about 3.4 yards per carry. Najee Harris was released Oct. 20, leaving Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary. Tracy's snap share climbed to 38% against the Saints, his highest of the season, after he scored twice. The guide flags three things to watch: Skattebo's snap share at Houston, whether Tracy keeps a 30%-plus role and the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
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