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Giants news, 1/3: Coaching candidates, Week 18 injury report

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

From Big Blue View

Other Giant observations

Giants wrap-up: Which players hit their incentives? What does 2026 schedule look like? | The Athletic

DT Dexter Lawrence: Lawrence has been active for every game this season, so he’s on pace to earn his full $1 million in per-game roster bonuses ($58,823 per game active).

Lawrence had $3 million in playing time and performance incentives added to his contract this offseason. Lawrence could earn up to $1.5 million based on playing time: $500,000 for playing more than 51 percent of the defensive snaps; another $500,000 for playing more than 60 percent of the defensive snaps; and another $500,000 for playing more than 70 percent of the snaps. Lawrence is a lock to earn at least $1 million, as he has played 69.7 percent of the snaps. He can earn the final $500,000 if he plays slightly higher than his typical workload in the finale.

Mike Kafka on developing a young quarterback

Mike Kafka 1-on-1: ‘That’s what it should look like’ | Giants.com

Q: Abdul Carter is coming on strong. He seemingly received the message and turned the corner. Is that what coaching is all about?

Kafka: I think it’s just the natural progression of putting in the hard work. For some, it doesn’t always happen that way. Everyone is a little bit different in terms of when you start to stack days. You stack hours. And when you continue to do that over a period of time, you’re going to see the results. You’ve got to believe in your process. You’ve got to believe that how you’re working and how you’re preparing is going to help you on game days. I think he is seeing the fruits of that labor. Credit to him for putting in the hours, coming in early. I think he’s gained a lot of respect and a lot of trust from not only the coaches but the players as well. He’s got to continue to do that. How can he continue to build on what (he’s) doing now because next year, next day, next week, next month, it’s going to be a different challenge. So, how do you continue to build off the success and things you’re doing right now?

New York Giants’ Tim Kelly blames ‘timing issues’ for Theo Johnson’s drops | USAToday.com

“I think some of them are timing issues. I think he had two against San Francisco, (the) ball was on him probably before he thought it was going to be on him,” Kelly said, “And then some of those, like you look at the play in New England and the play in Philly, he’s got to make those catches for sure. They would have been great plays, but the expectation is that he makes them.”

Looking ahead, Kelly identified consistency as the key. “I would say playing consistently with the confidence that he has and his ability to do that day in and day out from the first day, from the first play to the last play is something that’s going to be able to take him to the upper echelon of tight ends in this league,” he said.

Marcus Mbow is a key building block

Brian Burns finding reasons for ‘brighter side’ despite more Giants disappointment | New York Post

As the calendar turned to 2026, Brian Burns could be forgiven for hoping this coming year is different than the last.

He’s set to play his 114th career game Sunday, a mostly meaningless one other than for draft order, as well as a chance for him to build on his career-high 16.5

Ranking the Top 40 NFL Free Agents of 2026 | The Ringer

39. Wide Receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. Robinson has enjoyed a breakout season in 2025. He makes up for his tiny frame (he’s just 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds) and smaller catch radius with great ball skills and reliable hands. Through 16 games, he’s only dropped three passes and he ranks eighth among receivers with 80-plus targets in drop rate (3.2 percent). Robinson is a jittery athlete who can create separation in a hurry, and he’s thrived with more downfield targets this season. His average depth of target each of his previous two years in New York was under 6 yards; in 2025, his ADOT is 9 yards. It’s a big reason why his yards per reception average has jumped. He’s caught 92-of-131 targets for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns in 2025 through Week 17. Robinson isn’t a contested-catch threat and his YAC numbers are middling at best, but he’s a quick separator who can win in high-leverage moments down the field. Even if teams view him as a slot-only receiver, Robinson should have a market in the $12 million–to–$18 million range.

3 Burning Questions Giants Must Answer within First 60 Days of 2026 | SI.com

The top agenda items for SI’s Patricia Traina are the status of New York Giants General Manager Joe Schoen, who will be named head coach, and a Locker Room Cleanse, departing from the bad habit of hanging onto players who were premium draft pick who no longer fit into the plan.

Adam Schefter thinks Joe Schoen stays with Giants

The Big Picture: Why the Giants Should Keep GM Joe Schoen and Hire a Veteran Coach | FOX Sports

They also don’t need to start over from scratch, again — something they’ve gotten all too familiar with in the decade since they shoved Tom Coughlin out the door. A franchise once lauded for its stability has cycled through four GMs and six head coaches in the past 10 seasons. It’s also why they turned to Schoen, an outsider, when they hired him in 2022 to fix their floundering franchise. Obviously, the results since haven’t been good. But GMs shouldn’t be on the same win-now plan as the coaches they hire. They’re in charge of a bigger picture, with one eye always on a better future. And while the results might not make it obvious, there certainly are signs that the Giants’ future is bright.

“It takes time to build a program,” a former NFL general manager told me. “Nobody wants to hear that anymore, but it’s still true. We used to say it takes at least five years to really see what a GM can do, to really have his program in place. And sometimes it takes at least one coaching change, too. If you’re starting over every three or four years, you end up absolutely nowhere.”

With the Giants finishing another miserable season this week, their coaching search is about to crank up.

But there are still plenty of intriguing candidates — or potential candidates. And one of the guys in that “potential” category is Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who might get fired.

With one game remaining in a dismal 3-13 season and with the hiring season upon us, the Giants have an opportunity to correct that mistake by hiring the right Brian — Brian Flores, the Minnesota Vikings’ brilliant defensive coordinator.

If hired, Flores will be the first Black head coach in the Giants’ 101-year history. But that’s beside the point. Flores is one hell of a coach, and he’s just what a team with a precocious young quarterback (Jaxson Dart) and an emerging defensive star (Abdul Carter) needs. I’m not arguing that Flores will be the greatest head coach in Giants history, but that he is what the Giants need now. He brings head-coaching experience, toughness and an unwavering insistence for accountability.

This week’s opponent

Dallas wants to close the season with a win for a number of reasons: avoid its first consecutive losing seasons since 2000 to 2002, and finish 5-1 in the NFC East to build momentum into 2026. But does that work? Four times in team history, the Cowboys have ended a non-playoff season with a victory, and only once did they make the playoffs the following season. In 1963, they finished 7-7 and then went 10-3-1 in 1964, making it to the NFL championship. In 1965, 1987 and 2019, they won their season finales and failed to make the playoffs the next season.

With one game left in the 2025 regular season and the Cowboys already eliminated from the playoffs, that isn’t stopping Dak Prescott from taking the field as the starting quarterback. That said, Prescott knows he may not play the whole game, and admitted that it does change preparation leading into the game a bit. Still, the goal is the same when he’s on the field and he doesn’t feel the need to force anything.

“Just stick to the way that I play the game,” Prescott said. “I’m not gonna try to do too much early and make some big plays so I can get out of the game. If he says two touchdowns or three touchdowns or this score, you’re coming out, that may put a little bit pressure. But me not knowing when it is, and if it is, just go in and play my game and be smart.”

New Years Resolutions for all 32 NFL Teams | PFF

Dallas Cowboys: Rebuild the defense across the board. The Cowboys’ biggest weakness remains their defense. Dallas ranks 31st in EPA allowed per play (0.134), 30th in EPA allowed per pass (0.210) and 28th in EPA allowed per rush (0.009), illustrating a unit that struggles regardless of how opponents choose to attack.

Those issues are magnified in high-leverage moments, as the Cowboys sit dead last in conversion rate allowed at 33.3%. Fixing the defense cannot be isolated to a single position group — Dallas needs an infusion of talent at every level if it hopes to balance a roster that has been carried too often by the offense alone.