Notebook: Azeez Ojulari ready to step in for Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – A Giants team that leads the NFL in sacks has lost one of its best pass rushers for an indefinite period but has a capable and experienced replacement to step in.

Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux today underwent surgery on his wrist, which was injured in the team’s 29-20 victory Sunday in Seattle. Thibodeaux finished the game, but an examination yesterday revealed the extent of the injury.

Thibodeaux is not expected to play in the Giants’ home game Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I’m not going to give you a timeline or anything like that,” coach Brian Daboll said. “I would just say he’s week to week. I’m encouraged with what I’ve heard. But again, you never know.”

Fourth-year pro Azeez Ojulari will likely replace Thibodeaux in the starting lineup.

“Azeez has been good for us,” Daboll said. “He’ll be important if Kayvon’s not there. And, whether it’s (outside linebacker) Boogie (Basham), whether it’s Pat (linebacker Patrick Johnson), whoever it may be, we have confidence in the guys.”

“I have a lot of confidence in Azeez,” said nose tackle and team sack leader Dexter Lawrence. “He’s been in the league for four years now. He’s made a lot of plays in this league and for this team. I sent him a text message and told him it’s his time. And this is your opportunity to go take over.”

The Giants recorded seven sacks of Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith on Sunday. That raised their season total to a league-high 22, two more than the Jets.

“I feel like we got more, way more in the tank,” Ojulari said. “I feel like it’s in this room. We can go get it and I feel like the potential of the guys is big, so we can get that.”

Edge rushers Brian Burns and Thibodeaux were expected to lead the charge against opposing quarterbacks, but Lawrence has a team-high 6.0 sacks and safety Jason Pinnock is second with 3.0. Burns and Thibodeaux each have 2.0 and Ojulari has 1.0.

“That’s always the goal, to put up numbers and production and just be like the big impact for this defense,” Burns said. “I feel like that’s one of our main strengths, the D-line. But looking back on the film, I still feel like there’s a lot that we can clean up and we can be better. We left a lot of sacks on the field in these five games.”

Burns and Thibodeaux have played 84.4 and 78.6 percent of the defensive snaps, respectively. Ojulari is at 37%. But he will make no extreme changes in his preparation anticipating a heavier workload.

“I feel like I prepare every week the same, no matter what it is,” he said. “Just come out here, go to work, get better and execute a game plan every day, compete at practice and just take it one day at a time.

“Just try to keep working every day to try to make an impact when I’m out there on the field no matter what it is.”

That’s what Burns and everyone else on the defense expects with Ojulari on the field.

“I think he’s a talented player, so it’s good that he’ll be able to show that,” Burns said. “But our main goal for our room was to have waves and waves of rushes. We don’t want any drop off, of anybody that comes in the game.”

Thibodeaux will miss a game due to injury for the first time since he was sidelined for the first two games of his rookie season with a knee injury suffered in the preseason. He and linebacker Bobby Okereke have each started a team-high 22 consecutive regular-season games. Left tackle Andrew Thomas is next on the list with 14 straight starts.

Ojulari has started 25 of the 40 regular-season games in which he’s played, including 13 as a rookie in 2021, when he had a career-high and franchise rookie record 8.0 sacks. He has not started a game this season. He has 10 tackles (five solo), which place him directly behind Burns (15 and 11) and Thibodeaux (12 and eight) on the Giants’ defensive list.

“Being around those guys every day in a room and seeing the way they practice and learning things from them, has been great,” Ojulari said. “Just different moves, different angles and stuff, taking that from them and adding it to my bag and my repertoire, it’s been good learning from the guys.”

Now, he’ll get to use that knowledge in a larger role.

“I’m here preparing every single day,” Ojulari said. “I’ll be ready to go out there and perform at the highest level and execute the game plan.”