Giants left guard Shane Lemieux carted off at camp with knee injury

Giants left guard Shane Lemieux was carted off the field during Thursday’s practice with a knee injury.

The severity of the injury is not yet known.

Lemieux, 24, a second-year pro, had been working primarily with the first-string O-line in the first two practices of camp.

In a late 11-on-11 drill Thursday, though, veteran Kenny Wiggins lined up at left guard instead. And as the Giants ran plays and rotated units, Lemieux eventually was seen leaving the field on a cart.

It wasn’t immediately clear when Lemieux got hurt because the drill was happening in a far end zone, and coach Joe Judge had a wall of players shielding the media’s view.

The injury either happened in a half-field drill against the defense or during that 11-on-11 period as a sub for Wiggins.

Lemieux, a 2020 fifth-round pick out of Oregon, isn’t a proven commodity. He has a lot of work to do to improve on his subpar rookie year. But he has seen significant reps all spring and is supposed to compete for a starting spot at guard this summer.

Will Hernandez has manned right guard so far with Wiggins, Zach Fulton, Jake Burton, Kyle Murphy competing at both guards spots, as well.

McKINNEY MAKING PLAYS

Second-year safety Xavier McKinney looks like a ball hawk.

He had five interceptions in his final two years at Alabama, two returned for touchdowns. He had two in last season’s finale against the Dallas Cowboys, with one called back due to a Darnay Holmes penalty.

And on Thursday, McKinney jumped a Daniel Jones pass in the end zone, forcing an incompletion and nearly picking it off.

The Giants’ defense was better last season but still finished in an eight-way tie for 10th with 22 takeaways. With McKinney now healthy after missing most of his rookie year due to a foot fracture, it’s possible he could be the key that unlocks more takeaways.

“A lot of that is just being able to trust your ability to go make that play instead of just sitting back and waiting on it,” McKinney said of his penchant for hunting the ball. “I pride myself on that. That’s something I remind myself of before every practice, before every game is to go attack the ball rather than waiting for something to happen.”

McKinney, 21, winced when asked about Jones’ pass slipping through his hands Thursday.

“I definitely should have caught that one,” he said. “A little bit upset about that one. We’ll go back and look at it, but next time I’ll catch that one.”

But it’s exciting to think of what McKinney’s penchant for being around the ball could do for the defense. He’s versatile, able to play all over Pat Graham’s secondary if need be. And he’s constantly trying to take the ball away and give it back to Jones’ offense.

“I want to make plays,” McKinney said. “I still do what’s right for the team, but when the opportunity is there, I try to seize the opportunity.”

PRACTICE NOTES: DAY TWO

Judge’s second practice of camp was a hard one. Several players were on one knee at different points looking for oxygen. There were more, longer and more intense 11-on-11 team periods even though the Giants weren’t in shells or pads yet. Then they finished the practice with several cross-field sprints … Judge started making players run for mistakes on Thursday: centers Brett Heggie (twice) and Nick Gates, QBs Jones and Clayton Thorson, edge Azeez Ojulari and wideout Alex Bachman. The QB-center laps were for false starts … Thorson, the third-string QB, hit WR Austin Mack for a touchdown. Jones connected with David Sills on the left sideline for a nice completion in the red zone, as well … The Giants reportedly worked out veteran LB Todd Davis on Wednesday and had a visit with WR Cody Core, a special teams ace that they could re-sign if healthy. Davis’ visit is about possibly addressing a dearth of talent and depth on the inside. With Blake Martinez on the COVID list and Reggie Ragland (hamstring) on the non-football injury list, it was Carter Coughlin and Tae Crowder leading the group that manned the middle … Ojulari, the second-round pick out of Georgia, worked with the first team defense on the right edge.

THE INJURY REPORT

Edge Lorenzo Carter, who missed most of last season with a left Achilles tear, seemed to hurt something in his lower body late in practice. Carter stayed on the sideline and walked off the field after practice, but he didn’t do the conditioning sprints. Something to monitor … Edge Elerson Smith (unknown) and DT Austin Johnson (unknown) continued joining players on the PUP and NFI lists in side work. Johnson had started Wednesday’s practice but didn’t finish it. The rest of the group includes edge Ryan Anderson (hamstring), guard Jonotthan Harrison (hamstring), OT Matt Peart (back), CB Aaron Robinson (core muscle) and edge Oshane Ximines (hamstring) ... Judge didn’t have an update on rookie first-rounder Kadarius Toney other than he “had a good day” on day one with the trainers. Toney continued side work Thursday and wasn’t as visible as he had been the day before … Several players seem to be on programs that include some trainer work before jumping into practice, including FB Eli Penny and Wiggins … S Joshua Kalu was on the sideline at one point, so presumably he likely has been activated off the COVID list … The team waived RB Taquan Mizzell off injured reserve.