Giants LB T.J. Brunson, DB Joshua Kalu suffer major injuries

Two Giants suffered major injuries during Saturday night’s preseason game against the Jets. As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post was among those to report, linebacker T.J. Brunson suffered a torn ACL, which will bring an end to his season. Safety Joshua Kalu suffered a torn pectoral muscle, and his season could be over as well.

Brunson, a 2020 seventh-rounder, played in five games for Big Blue last season; although, all but two of his 55 snaps came on special teams. If he had stayed healthy and made the team, he probably would have spent the majority of his time on the Giants’ third unit again, but ESPN's Jordan Raanan says he was doing some good things in his pursuit of a roster spot. Given New York’s general lack of LB depth, Brunson might have had a shot to get some burn on the defensive side of the ball.

Raanan suggested that Kalu, a 2018 UDFA who got into 28 games with the Titans over the course of the past three years, also had a good chance of earning a job. Like Brunson, Kalu has spent most of his time as a pro as a special teamer, but he did appear in a career-best 91 defensive snaps for Tennessee in 2020. He has 26 total tackles, one forced fumble and one pass defensed in his career.

In other Giants news, head coach Joe Judge said his club is likely to add an offensive lineman or two this week, via Dan Duggan of The Athletic. The team lost 2021 signees Joe Looney and Zach Fulton to retirement, and even though Ted Larsen was signed on Friday, New York is still a little thin up front.