To make the end to their miserable season even worse, Dexter Lawrence was added to the Giants’ injury report Thursday, as the defensive lineman missed practice with an illness.
He joined Abdul Carter, Theo Johnson and Jalin Hyatt, also sidelined with an illness that’s hit the Giants locker room.
Lawrence has started every game this season, one that’s largely been a disappointment.
His numbers are down across the board, and he’s also faced criticism from former Giants linebacker Carl Banks, among others.
He has just a half-sack this season, down from a career-best nine a year ago, as he’s dealt with consistent double-teams.
With the Giants closing out a rough year, the defense could also be without Jevón Holland (knee/concussion) and Cor’Dale Flott (knee), who were also held out of practice.
On the other side of the ball, Wan’Dale Robinson (rib) also missed practice.
Johnson has been bothered by dropped passes during the season.
Interim offensive coordinator Tim Kelly believes there is one main reason why.
“I think some of them are timing issues,’’ said Kelly, previously his position coach at tight end. “I think he had two against San Francisco, [when the] ball was on him probably before he thought it was going to be.”
Kelly also noted Johnson, who is tied with Darius Slayton for a team-high five drops, hasn’t made some plays he should have against the Patriots and Eagles.
“He’s got to make those catches, for sure,’’ Kelly said. “They would have been great plays, but the expectation is that he makes them. So being able to track the ball when it’s in the air and being able to talk about, basically, his ability to go and pluck the football, as opposed to waiting for it to get to him.”
Mike Kafka’s audition as interim head coach ends Sunday, as does that of interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen, who was bumped up after Shane Bowen was fired earlier in the year.
Asked about his future, Bullen said, “I’m really not that concerned about that. It’s just been a great honor and privilege for me to even be in this position and the way it came about, of course. … I tell the players, all that stuff takes care of itself. Just work hard, compete, do your best to win and improve and that stuff takes care of itself, so that’s really not on my mind at all right now.’’
Kelly praised Jaxson Dart’s “feel for space.”
“Knowing, ‘When can I jam this ball in there?’ or ‘When do I have to pull off?’ ” Kelly said. “There’s just certain things where some people may have to wait to see somebody open, and some people can anticipate it because they can feel the space and I think he’s one of those guys who can feel that space.”
The Giants have gone through four kickers this season — five, if you include punter Jamie Gillan filling in for an injured Graham Gano — and maybe they’ve found something in Ben Sauls. He’s 4-for-4 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points.
“He’s made all his kicks, which is critical,’’ special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said. “The moxie that he’s had, regardless of distance, regardless of environment, whether you’re on the road, whether you’re in windy conditions, he approaches each kick as one singular kick, which to me, some of the best kickers in this league do.”
Ghobrial noted some of Sauls’ kickoffs haven’t been good, “but he’s trending in the right direction.”
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