Ojulari will have third straight season interrupted by injury
Three weeks after deciding not to move him at the NFL trade deadline, the New York Giants are placing edge defender Azeez Ojulari on Injured Reserve due to a toe injury.
Ojulari suffered the injury on Sunday during a 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 24-year-old Ojulari will finish the season with 6.0 sacks, the second-best total of his four-year career.
Ojulari did not have a sack in any of his last three games, two of those coming after the trade deadline.
Ojulari can be a free agent this offseason. This particular injury should not impact his value on the open market, but his overall injury history might.
Considered a first-round talent, Ojulari fell to the Giants in Round 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft at least in part because of concerns about a knee injury he had suffered as a high school player.
Ojulari had 8.0 sacks in a promising rookie season, but a variety of soft tissue injuries caused him to play in just 18 of a potential 34 regular season games in 2022 and 2023 combined.
No corresponding move has been announced. Edge defender Tomon Fox, recently dropped from the 53-man roster by the Giants, is a possibility to replace Ojulari. Veteran edge defender Boogie Basham and outside linebacker Benton Whitley are both players who have experience with the Giants and are currently on the practice squad.
