The New York Giants finally provided news on a long-term injury ahead of Week 7, as veteran free agent signing and outside linebacker Victor Dimukeje will begin practicing again after suffering a torn pectoral this spring.
“OLB Victor Dimukeje (pec) had his practice window opened,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported on October 15. He added that the “Giants now have 21 days to activate him.”
If Big Blue fails to activate Dimukeje by the end of this 21-day window, he will be transferred to the season-ending injured reserve. This typically only occurs when there is some sort of setback in a player’s recovery.
More commonly, it signals that a player is getting close to an injury return, and in the case of Dimukeje, this 21-day timeline puts him on track to return in early November, at the latest. Some time between Week 8 and Week 10.
Victor Dimukeje Could Help Giants on Special Teams Once He Returns From Injury
You might be asking yourself: Why would the Giants need another outside linebacker? After all, this is one of their greatest areas of strength, and Dimukeje would likely be buried on the depth chart behind Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter and hybrid OLB/DE Chauncey Golston.
Although Dimukeje would surely strengthen their depth in case of injury, the reality is that the Giants are most likely trying to get him back on the field for his special teams impact. One could argue that it’s the main reason general manager Joe Schoen signed the former Arizona Cardinal in the first place.
According to Pro Football Reference, Dimukeje logged 838 snaps on defense and 943 snaps on special teams over the course of his tenure out west.
Dimukeje flashed potential as a part-time starter in 2023, recording all four of his sacks — plus a forced fumble and 5 tackles for a loss — that year, but he followed it up with a quiet 2024 campaign (1 forced fumble, 2 tackles for a loss and 6 QB hits over 11 appearances).
The Giants have dealt with injuries at middle linebacker, and most of those players also double as core special teamers. For this reason, we’ve seen practice squad OLB Tomon Fox see-saw on and off the 53-man roster this season.
Dimukeje would likely either take Fox’s on-again, off-again spot on the active roster or join him in spelling all of the ILB injuries on special teams.
The veteran began the regular season on the PUP list after sitting out all of training camp.
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