Latest Micah McFadden injury update is exactly what Giants didn’t want to hear

The New York Giants’ offense looked as bad as everyone expected in their 2025 season opener, highlighting that this defense needs to play at peak efficiency every week to wring a few wins out of this schedule. That task got much harder when it was announced that a locked-in starter will miss a good chunk of time.

Starting inside linebacker Micah McFadden was taken out of their Week 1 loss against the Washington Commanders with a serious lower body injury that remained a bit of a mystery. There has been some clarity after the latest injury update, and it’s not good for the Giants’ defense.

Mike Garafolo is reporting that McFadden is in line to miss a significant part of the 2025 season with a foot injury he suffered in the Washington loss. While the Giants are hopeful McFadden could come back before the end of this season, New York will be without him for most of their most important games.

Giants LB Micah McFadden to miss most of 2025 with foot injury
McFadden has topped 100 tackles in each of the last two seasons while picking up four sacks and an interception in that same timespan. While Joe Schoen has a very up-and-down history when it comes to drafting and developing in the later rounds, McFadden was one heck of a fifth-round pick

In terms of filling McFadden’s spot next to Bobby Okereke, look for one of either former Ravens special teams ace Chris Board or 2024 sixth-round pick Darius Muasau to step in. Neither of those two is an ideal starter, but desperate times call for desperate measures in New York.

The Giants don’t have a ton of time to lick their wounds. Their next three games without McFadden will come against a division rival in the Dallas Cowboys, who looked better than expected, the reigning AFC Champions in the Kansas City Chiefs, and a Los Angeles Chargers squad led by a terrific quarterback in Justin Herbert.

2025 may be a long year for both the Giants as an organization and their fans, and losing one of the team’s better internal development stories right before the schedule starts to show teeth is brutal.

The New York Giants stole Jevón Holland from the Miami Dolphins this offseason, hoping the 25-year-old safety would return to fringe-Pro Bowl form after a lackluster fourth and final season in teal.

The G-Men didn’t just pay for Holland’s playmaking ability — they threw him $45 million over three years for what they viewed as Xavier McKinney’s official replacement. As Week 1 wraps up, it’s fair to wonder if Big Blue would like a refund on their expensive addition.