New York Giants running back Devin Singletary (groin) will be available this week when the team hosts the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Singletary missed the last two games, which has paved the way for rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. to come in and possibly “Wally Pipp” him.
For those unfamiliar with that term, it refers to the former New York Yankees first baseman Wally Pipp, who lost his job to a young upstart by the name of Lou Gehrig. Pipp never started another game at first as Gehrig embarked on his historic streak of 2,130 consecutive games played.
We’re not saying this is the end of Singletary but rather the beginning of Tracy, a fifth-round pick out of Purdue who began his career as a wide receiver at Iowa.
Tracy has come in and basically owned the job over the past two weeks. Against Seattle, he rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries, and last week versus Cincinnati, Tracy gained 107 total yards and scored a touchdown.
Reporters and fans might think that with Singletary returning, the Giants could have a controversy on their hands. That was squashed on Friday when head coach Brian Daboll said that Tracy would see significant playing time against Philadelphia this Sunday.
“He’s done a good job, he’s earned it, so he’ll get plenty of playing time,” said Daboll. “Motor, we’ll see how the game’s going and how it transpires. But Motor will play, Tracy will play, (Eric) Gray will play. We’ll use all three of those guys.”
Singletary has rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns but has only averaged 3.9 yards per carry. He has caught 10 passes for 72 yards to Tracy’s 11 receptions for 99.
“Tyrone has capitalized on his opportunities,” Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said on Thursday. “He’s done a great job in the pass game, in the screen game, in the running game. We’re just going to continue building off of that.”
With the Giants averaging just 16.0 points per game this season, they are looking for the most dynamic players they have to step forward and make plays.
This Sunday should mark the return of stud wideout Malik Nabers from the concussion protocol which would mark the first game that he and Tracy will spend meaningful time on the field together.
