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Josina Anderson of ESPN is reporting that New York Giants defensive end Olivier Vernon (ankle) and linebacker Jonathan Casillas (ankle/wrist) are both expected to play, barring any setbacks before the game.
#Giants DE Olivier Vernon (questionable, ankle) told me he will play Sunday vs. the #Bucs, barring any unexpected setbacks in warmups.
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) October 1, 2017
Source: #Giants LB Jonathan Casillas (questionable ankle/wrist) expects to play v/t #Bucs, barring any setback in warmups.<-Same for Grimes.
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) October 1, 2017
The situation for both players is being described as similar to Odell Beckham Jr. or Janoris Jenkins in previous weeks. They will test themselves during warm-ups, but at this time both are expected to be able to play.
What we don’t know now is how much either will play. Both are important pieces in the Giants’ defense and routinely play heavy snap counts, both in run defense and pass defense. It’s likely that if both play they will see a reduced share of the defensive snap count and the defense will feature more of a rotation at their positions than in previous weeks.
The Giants got good news on the injury front earlier in the week as well. Linebacker B.J. Goodson and right tackle Bobby Hart were both removed from the injury report on Friday and Beckham was no longer listed as “limited” in practice.