The New York Giants shocked the world last year by making the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record and earning a Wild Card Round win over the Minnesota Vikings. This came with relatively the same roster left over from the Dave Gettleman-Joe Judge regime. This offseason, Giants general manager Joe Schoen had more cap space to work with to build a roster in his and head coach Brian Daboll's image.
Their biggest move of the offseason came on a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire tight end Darren Waller. The move was made by moving a third-round pick they received from the Kansas City Chiefs by moving on from wide receiver Kadarius Toney. In the final preseason game, Waller showed to be an important part of the passing game, as quarterback Daniel Jones targeted him heavily.
As Giants fans celebrated Toney's struggles on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, they received some concerning news -- Waller had picked up a hamstring injury and was deemed questionable for New York's Week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
With kickoff a matter of hours away -- will Waller play in Week 1?
Giants injury update: Darren Waller is expected to play in Week 1
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Waller is expected to play on Sunday night against the Cowboys.
Waller's status for the game was trending in a positive direction, as the Giants didn't elevate a tight end from the practice squad by the 4:00 p.m. ET deadline on Saturday.
If Waller were to be held out, that would have meant an uptick in snaps for Daniel Bellinger, their second-year tight end. In his rookie year, Bellinger caught 30-of-35 targets for 268 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games (11 starts).
Giants Week 1 injury report
Below is the Giants' injury report, via the team's official website.
Cowboys Week 1 injury report
Below is the Cowboys' Week 1 injury report, via their official website.
