Will Alvin Kamara even have to break any tackles on Sunday facing a depleted Giants defensive front?
It is shaping up to be an all-hands-on-deck emergency situation against the Saints.
On the interior of the defensive line, star nose tackle Dexter Lawrence already has been placed on injured reserve with a dislocated left elbow and will not play again this season.
On Wednesday, another starter on the defensive line, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, did not practice because of a neck injury.
Also along the line, D.J. Davidson (shoulder) and Jordon Riley (knee) were limited.
That left the Giants with rookie Elijah Chatman and two practice squad linemen — Casey Rogers and Elijah Garcia — to take the bulk of the snaps in practice.
A newcomer, Cory Durden, participated for the first time since he was signed off the Rams practice squad.
It is also not helpful that inside linebacker Bobby Okereke came up with a back issue and did not practice.
Okereke has started all 12 games this season and rarely comes off the field. He leads the team with 93 tackles.
If he is unavailable, Ty Summers, Matthew Adams or rookie Darius Muasau will start.
Another option is Dyontae Johnson, whose practice window opened on Wednesday. He should be available to play, if needed.
Kamara will take aim at this injury-riddled defensive front. He is seventh in the NFL in rushing with 894 yards.
The Giants are 29th in the league in run defense, giving up 145.8 rushing yards per game.
The situation is just as dire on the offensive line, with left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) and right tackle Evan Neal (hip) unable to practice.
Veteran backup Chris Hubbard started on Thanksgiving at left tackle against the Cowboys.
If Eluemunor and Neal are not available, the starting duo will be Hubbard and Josh Ezeudu, which figures to make life difficult for Drew Lock in his second Giants start at quarterback.
Cornerback Deonte Banks (rib) also did not practice.
Head coach Brian Daboll said all the players who were not able to practice should be considered “week-to-week,” which is an ominous forecast, considering “day-to-day’’ is more in line with a prognosis for a player who might be ready in a few days.
“I think they all have a chance, but I think it’s too early to tell how optimistic I am with it,” Daboll said.
Rookie TE Theo Johnson suffered a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury late in the Thanksgiving loss to the Cowboys and had surgery on Tuesday.
He finished his first NFL season with 29 receptions for 331 yards and one touchdown.
“It’ll be some time here, which is too bad,’’ Daboll said. “He was really doing a nice job. Great young man. Worked extremely hard. Feel terrible for him. Tough. I mean he did it towards the end of the game, he kept playing through it. He didn’t really know anything was wrong until after the game when he got looked at.”
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