The New York Giants could be down one wide receiver after Sunday’s training camp practice, as Bryce Ford-Wheaton left with an injury.
“Injuries are the biggest storyline at this point of camp,” The Athletic’s Dan Duggan reported on July 27. “Wan’Dale Robinson left his second straight practice. This one didn’t seem major either. May have just banged knees with a defender.”
The NYG beat reporter then added that “Bryce Ford-Wheaton, on the other hand, appeared to suffer a significant injury.”
When the injury first occurred, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan noted that “WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton [is] in pain on ground. Grabbed at [the] back part of his leg. Just fell to the ground after taking a step. Later carted off with head in towel.”
Ford-Wheaton carved out a niche role with the Giants as a core special teamer in 2024 despite only logging two career snaps on offense during the regular season. By comparison, he was on the field for 286 special teams snaps last year.
Although Ford-Wheaton was no guarantee to make the 53-man roster, any long-term injury would weaken the Giants’ depth at both wide receiver and on special teams.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton’s Training Camp Injury Could Open the Door for Giants UDFA WRs
Within the same practice summary post, Duggan highlighted undrafted wide receiver Beaux Collins getting “some first-team reps” with Jalin Hyatt not participating in team periods.
Hyatt is also battling a nagging injury, creating more opportunities for rookies like Collins.
“Collins didn’t have any catches with the starters, but he had four grabs from [Jaxson] Dart,” Duggan continued. “He’s someone who will push for the roster spot presumably opened by Ford-Wheaton’s injury.”
A standout throughout OTAs, Collins is certainly a player to watch this summer as he attempts to make a roster push. But he’s not alone.
Fellow UDFA Dalen Cambre has made plays this spring and early summer, and he’s also known for his special teams prowess, like Ford-Wheaton. Then there’s Jordan Bly, Da’Quan Felton and Antwane “Juice” Wells, who have also shown some talent.
While Collins appears to have an early lead on this rookie group at wide receiver, there’s still plenty of time for that to potentially change. The Giants’ staff seems to have done a great job of scouring the undrafted market at the position this offseason.
Giants Veteran WR Zach Pascal Could Be Most Direct Ford-Wheaton Replacement
There is one other name that should be mentioned if Ford-Wheaton misses time. And that’s veteran wide receiver Zach Pascal.
Pascal has earned a reputation as a plus special teams player throughout his NFL career, and when the Giants first brought him in, it almost felt like they were positioning him as direct competition for Ford-Wheaton.
Needless to say, if Ford-Wheaton goes down with injury, Pascal could be the wideout most in line to replace him.
After playing a pretty significant role with the Indianapolis Colts earlier in his career, Pascal transitioned to more of a special teams role with the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals.
From 2022 through 2024, Pascal logged 200-plus special teams snaps per season. With his career-high ST snap count actually coming last year (278 snaps).
Pascal hasn’t made much noise so far with Big Blue as a receiver, but it’s always difficult to gauge special teams battles unless a coach or coordinator references an ST contributor by name. Ford-Wheaton’s injury could thrust the veteran into the spotlight more at Giants training camp.
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