Shane Lemieux goes down with a knee injury in Giants camp

You never want to see anybody go down on the football field. In the NFL, especially during pre-season camp. But that’s what happened with former Oregon Ducks offensive lineman Shane Lemieux Thursday morning in New York Giants camp.

The Giants drafted Lemieux in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft after a stellar career at Oregon. He worked his way into the New York starting lineup and was expected to be their regular left guard entering the 2021 campaign.

At first, it was reported he was carted off the practice field because of an apparent elbow injury. But later, it was confirmed to be a knee. New York probably wishes it was the elbow. A knee injury to an offensive lineman can be devastating.

Lemieux doesn’t have a history of any kind where injuries are concerned. He started 52 straight games for the Ducks at left guard and played 3,611 snaps at left guard over his career, including over 900 each of the last three seasons. He was named a first-team All-American as a junior and a second-team All-American as a senior.

New York finished 6-10 last season and was looking for an improvement in 2021 and hopefully making a run at the playoffs. But if Lemieux’s knee injury is significant, those plans might have to be adjusted.