The New York Giants placed Calvin Austin III on injured reserve after he tore his ACL in Tuesday's practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, ending his first season with the team. The move turns a sudden practice injury into a roster problem with the preseason still one game from over.
Austin had just come off one of his busiest stretches in a Giants uniform. In Saturday's preseason win in Miami, he returned two punts for 29 yards, caught two passes for 24 yards and added 21 yards on the ground. That kind of all-around usage is why John Harbaugh said he had been playing well and had carved out a role on offense and special teams before the injury halted him.
Harbaugh called the setback shocking because it was non-contact, and he said he felt bad for Austin after texting with him. He also said the receiver will face a long road back, even as he added that the team would be behind him the whole way. MattNagy struck the same note, calling the injury a blow while stressing that the next player has to step up and play.
The timing makes the loss harder to absorb. The Giants finish the preseason on Friday night against the Jets, and the 53-man roster must be finalized two days later. Austin’s absence removes a player with 48 regular-season games, 16 starts, 84 catches, 1,100 receiving yards, eight touchdown catches, 11 rushing attempts, 57 rushing yards and 72 career punt return attempts on his resume. He also scored a 73-yard punt return touchdown against the Giants in 2024, a reminder of the kind of special-teams threat that can change a game in one touch.
For the Giants, the immediate question is not whether Austin can help this week. It is how quickly they can replace his snaps on offense and in the return game while the roster clock keeps running. His injury is already in the books; the depth chart now has to catch up.
