New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Giants DL Dexter Lawrence's Injury Revealed

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Nov 26, 2025 1:27 PM ET

New York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence’s mysterious injury suffered in last week’s loss to the Detroit Lions has been revealed by interim head coach Mike Kafka as an elbow issue. The same elbow ended Lawrence’s season prematurely last year.

Kafka didn’t go into great detail regarding the seriousness of this latest issue or if it would affect Lawrence’s availability for Monday night’s game against the New England Patriots, but he did say that Lawrence would be held out of Wednesday’s practice.

Earlier this season, Lawrence denied that his elbow issue from last season was contributing to his struggles this year, a logical move considering he likely didn’t want opponents targeting it.

But it’s been crystal clear that Lawrence, who in Sunday’s loss to the Lions only played in 39 of the team’s 60 defensive snaps, hasn’t had the same kind of impact against both solo and double team blocks as he did before his season-ending injury, which was suffered right around this same time last year.

In other injury news, quarterback Jaxson Dart (concussion) remains in the league’s protocol, but Kafka said that he would fully participate in the team’s practice. Dart would need to be cleared by an independent neurological consultant before being allowed to partake in Monday’s game.

Dart was thought to be on his way to clearing the protocol last week, but was unable to get over the final hurdle. That he's able to participate fully in the practices is an encouraging sign for the rookie.

Kafka has said in the past that when Dart is cleared from the protocol, he will resume his role as the team’s starting quarterback.

Kafka also said that outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) and inside linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (neck) would not practice on Wednesday. Thibodeaux has missed two games with his injury, and Flannigan-Fowles has missed five games so far with various injuries.

Others who are dealing with injuries but whose statuses are still to be updated include cornerback Deonte Banks (hip), cornerback Paulson Adebo (knee), and safety Tyler Nubin (neck), all of whom were inactive in last week's game due to their respective injuries.

This article first appeared on New York Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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