The New York Giants will host the Los Angeles Chargers at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon in Week 4, where they will look to pick up an upset victory and avoid falling to 0-4. But they will be without several players, including, potentially, veteran defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches.
Nacho has not played since Week 1, having been listed as inactive with a foot injury in each of the past two weeks.
New York will enter the game banged up, with several players already on injured reserve (IR) and several more ruled out: Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (shoulder) and defensive lineman Chauncey Golston (ankle). Kicker Graham Gano (groin) landed on IR on Saturday afternoon.
Rakeem Nunez-Roches injury update
Nunez-Roches did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was a limited participant on Friday. His status for Sunday afternoon seems tenious at best. If he sits out, it will be the third consecutive game he’s missed.
Notably, head coach Brian Daboll said ahead of Friday’s practice that Nunez-Roches was not scheduled to participate before he ended up doing some limited work.
“Nacho, Tracy, Golston, (kicker) Graham, and then (Aaron) Stinnie, they just had a baby about two hours ago. It’s another one,” he said of who wouldn’t practice.
In Week 1, Nacho drew the start but recorded just one assisted tackle on 32 defensive reps (46 percent). He also took four snaps on special teams. He has not played since.
Will Rakeem Nunez-Roches play vs. Chargers?
Nacho seemingly suffered a foot injury in a Week 1 loss to the Washington Commanders and subsequently sat out of practice for a couple of weeks. The Giants designated the veteran as doubtful on the injury report after he did some limited work on Friday afternoon at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
However, the signing of practice squad defensive lineman Elijah Garcia to the Giants’ 53-man roster is an indication that Nunez-Roches may be inactive in Week 4.
Who would replace Rakeem Nunez-Roches in the lineup?
Nunez-Roches has been a starter along the defensive line since joining the Giants, and bookends the group with Roy Robertson-Harris. Superstar nose tackle Dexter Lawrence obviously clogs up the middle.
Nacho had no listed backup on the roster until Saturday’s signing of the aforementioned Garcia, who had been activated in each of the first three weeks. He has served as a rotational replacement for both Nunez-Roches and Chauncey Golston, who was listed as inactive in Week 3.
The Giants also have rookie lineman Darius Alexander, who has slowly improved over the first month of the season. He’s gaining more trust from his positional coaches and may see added action against the Chargers in the absence of Nacho.