Giants' Thibodeaux, Ojulari to Make Season Debuts Against Ailing Cowboys

New York Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) walks onto the field for a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium on August 21, 2022, in East Rutherford. Nfl Ny Giants Preseason Game Vs Bengals Bengals At Giants

As the Dallas Cowboys are ailing, the New York Giants will have some reinforcements for their Week 3 Monday Night Football game, as they push to become one of just three teams in the NFL to begin the season 3-0. The Giants will get a pair of edge rushers on the field for the first time this season, in Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari.

Thibodeaux was the fifth overall pick in this year's draft, out of Oregon. Long thought of as a potential first overall pick, Thibodeaux suffered a knee injury during the Giants' preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and missed the team's first two games of the season. The rookie will be searching for his first career NFL sack, after recording 19 of them in three seasons with the Ducks.

Across from Thibodeaux, the Giants will also have second-year rusher Azeez Ojulari for the first time this season. Ojulari went down with a calf strain during a preseason joint practice with the New York Jets. In his rookie season, the defender out of Georgia recorded eight sacks, which led the Giants and was third among rookies, behind Dallas' Micah Parsons and Miami's Jaelen Phillips.

Dallas, meanwhile, will be short-handed on offense for an additional game. Michael Gallup, initially expected to make his debut coming off of a torn ACL in Week 17 of last season, was among the Cowboys' inactives for Monday. Joining him is another of the team's top pass-catchers, tight end Dalton Schultz, who suffered a sprained PCL in the Cowboys' Week 2 game against the Bengals. Dallas will also be without guard Connor McGovern, and on the defensive side of the ball, safety Jayron Kearse. Both were injured in the team's opener against Tampa Bay.

New York's losses are similarly littered with key players. The Giants are without a pair of wide receivers: This year's second-round pick, Wan'Dale Robinson, and last year's first-rounder, Kadarius Toney. Defensive lineman Leonard Williams is also out after suffering an injury in Week 2 against Carolina, snapping a streak of 114 consecutive games played for the Giants.