New York Giants' Shocking Injury News Just Changed Everything

As if the New York Giants didn't already have enough injuries, they just lost yet another key players for the year, as linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has gone down with a season-ending shoulder injury.

Edmunds popped up on the injury report this week with the shoulder issue, but it didn't appear to be too big of a deal. Evidently, it was more serious than initially anticipated.

Now, the Giants have lost the anchor of their linebacking corps, the man they signed to a three-year, $36 million contract in free agency back in March.

New York's run defense was already struggling as it was, so to subtract Edmunds on top of that will make things that much more challenging for Big Blue.

Micah McFadden will now step back into a starting role, and fortunately, he has long proven to be serviceable — but he is a definitive downgrade from Edmunds.

This injury changes absolutely everything for the Giants.

Edmunds' absence will now put that much more pressure on rookie Arvell Reese, and it also means that Reese's mentor will no longer be on the field with him.

Reese has looked spectacular in certain moments this year, but he has also looked very much like a first-year player at other times, so losing Edmunds will unquestionably have an effect on the youngster.

This will also make New York a step slower in its front seven, which will not only affect the pass rush (Edmunds actually has a couple of sacks this season), but also its pass coverage, which was already questionable.

And of course, it will also give running backs yet even more of a chance to break through the Giants' linebacking corps and into the defensive backfield.

New York has now lost two of its top defensive players in Edmunds and Brian Burns, which is beyond devastating for a unit that displayed so much potential during the season opener.

The Giants are now incredibly thin on that side of the ball, and in an NFC East that is totally up for grabs, New York may slowly be losing its advantage.

To make matters worse, the schedule is about to get tougher. The Giants will face the suddenly hot Houston Texans on the road on Sunday before heading into their bye week. Then, New York will begin a difficult stretch that runs all the way through Week 18.

Even in such a horrendous division, it's becoming harder and harder to view the Giants as a potential playoff team given all of their injuries. First, Jaxson Dart. Then Burns. Now Edmunds. It continues to snowball.