The New York Giants lost rookie safety Xavier McKinney to a fractured left foot.
The Giants defense also lost linebacker David Mayo to a torn meniscus in his left knee. He started 13 games for them last season.
There is hope that McKinney can return and his rookie season is not totally lost, a source told ESPN.
McKinney was a second-round pick earlier this year out of Alabama. He was expected to play a significant role in an already thin Giants secondary.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cam Newton and Julian Edelman are in the early stages of developing a connection with the New England Patriots, which is reflected when they’ve moved to a side field to work together in recent training camp practices.
Edelman took a humorous step in showing how they are coming together Tuesday, tweeting a picture of them as Superman (Newton) and Batman (Edelman).
“The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming…” pic.twitter.com/LbsSkqoGok
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) August 25, 2020
“We’re still trying to get to know each other. Just like I am with all my new teammates, but specifically with a guy that distributes the football, just kind of getting to know each other as people on the field, off the field. Trying to build a rapport,” Edelman said this week, adding that he’s done the same thing with quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, so he now has “to catch up with Cam.”
Newton’s approach has energized Edelman, who previously referred to his “charming personality” while noting how his work ethic and confidence generates “a vibe that can feel you and get you in a mindset.” It’s an approach that also has Newton in the driver’s seat to become the Patriots’ top quarterback, replacing Tom Brady — one of Edelman’s closest friends.
After splitting repetitions evenly with veteran Hoyer and Stidham through the first four practices of training camp, Newton has been thrust into a leading role in each of the past four workouts.
The turning point came when Stidham visited a Boston hospital for tests on his leg last Thursday. While the tests came back negative, Stidham’s workload has been notably reduced since that point.
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Newton has seized the opportunity, although coach Bill Belichick isn’t ready to name him the starter.
“Being with him every day, he’s an extremely hardworking player — first guy in, last one out type of guy. He really has studied hard and he has spent a lot of extra time trying to learn our offense and our communication and our calls; I have been very impressed with that,” Belichick said of Newton on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“He’s done a good job of picking it up. He’s a very skilled athlete and we’re just working through it day by day. We have a long way to go, but we’re making steps and we have a very competitive competition at a very competitive position at the quarterback spot. It’s going to be interesting to see how everybody does.”
Newton, who is scheduled to address reporters Wednesday for just the second time since he signed with the Patriots on July 8, has a presence that is hard to miss at practice. His voice booms across the field, and he often dances to warm-up music.
Upon arriving in the huddle for the first time, he has a special handshake with each player.
“He comes in and energizes everybody,” starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn said. “It’s dope. Just like I can’t wait to play with the rest of the guys whenever game time comes, I also can’t wait to show a little handshake, a little juice.”
CINCINNATI — Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap said he and other Black NFL players were discriminated against because of their race during an offseason workout.
On Monday, Dunlap recalled an instance in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he and a group of Black players were asked by a park ranger to cease the workout and leave while a group of white NFL players were allowed to continue their drills.
“It was appalling to us and it was very frustrating and it was something that almost made me act out of character,” Dunlap told reporters on Monday.
Dunlap said the incident occurred in late June, one month after George Floyd, who is Black, was killed in Minneapolis in late May when a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than 7 minutes.
According to Dunlap, the two groups of NFL players were separated by two fields. A group of young soccer players, which was comprised of mixed ethnicities, was asked to stop. Dunlap said the Black players were “asked to get off the field aggressively as well.” The park ranger, according to Dunlap, allowed the white group to finish its workout.
“We asked them, why did you demand that we leave the field and go to another field when we explained that we were almost done, literally five to 10 minutes, versus the other group that was able to finish the workout,” Dunlap said. “And he pretty much watched and damn-near cheered them on.”
The Fort Lauderdale parks and recreation department, which oversees the park rangers, could not be immediately reached for comment.
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Dunlap, the Bengals’ all-time sack leader and an 11-year veteran, also spoke about the franchise’s response to Floyd’s death this offseason. The Bengals were one of the last NFL teams to issue a public comment.
A story posted on the team’s website on June 6 announced a $250,000 donation to “community initiatives” and said the team supports fighting “prejudice and discrimination.” Four days later, the team released a statement on Instagram in which executive vice president Katie Blackburn said the franchise was looking forward to “continuing to listen and to working together as one connected team to better our society.”
Dunlap said the team’s approach to a response was something the players noticed.
“They had their reasoning for it,” Dunlap said. “The players, some of them received it very well. Some of us still feel like we still could speak something.”
The former Florida standout said he wants to see the franchise aligned with a strong approach much like that of other companies and teams around the country. Dunlap said if that occurs, the Bengals collectively could create a substantial impact in Cincinnati regarding racial inequality and social injustice.
Bengals president Mike Brown has not issued any public comments about the topic. Brown’s last words on the record came when the Bengals released longtime quarterback Andy Dalton in April.
Dunlap said he hasn’t requested an in-person audience with Brown but wants to have a conversation with Cincinnati’s top executive.
“I don’t want them to check the box,” Dunlap said. “I want them to do something they are passionate about. That way, they’re physically and emotionally invested in it, as we all are.”
Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah said he and roughly 10 players sit on a team committee designed to create a positive impact in the community. Uzomah said the group is trying to find local objectives to support to show the franchise is united in the cause.
“We’re taking the proper steps and trying to to make sure we shed light on the situation,” Uzomah said. “The owners are in there and players in that committee are asking a lot of the owners to help us with that, to help meet with us when we do certain things and they’re all on board.”
The NFL is working Sunday to assess a series of positive COVID-19 results that have all been traced to the same laboratory in New Jersey, raising concerns about the efficacy of the testing program established to minimize spread of the disease.
“Saturday’s daily COVID testing returned several positives tests from each of the clubs serviced by the same laboratory in New Jersey,” the NFL said in a statement Sunday morning. “We are working with our testing partner, BioReference, to investigate these results, while the clubs work to confirm or rule out the positive tests.”
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters that at least 10 teams were affected.
The Chicago Bears announced they received nine positive results from their Saturday test regimen. All nine were determined to be false positive results, meaning none were actual indications of infection. The Bears moved back their morning practice to Sunday afternoon “out of an abundance of caution” while they sorted through them.