New York Giants and New York Jets joint training camp practice

UPDATE: Some good news, injury-wise, for the Giants: Azeez Ojulari’s MRI on Thursday, coming out of a practice in which he got hurt, revealed “nothing major,” and he is expected to be OK, according to NFL Network. That confirms the initial, on-field thoughts of the Giants’ medical staff after Ojulari got hurt — that the injury was not serious, even though it looked at first glance like it might be. Ojulari appeared to injure his lower right leg during a conditioning run.

Day 18 of Giants training camp, on Thursday, had a twist.

The Giants hosted the Jets for a joint practice in East Rutherford, leading up to the teams’ preseason finale Sunday.

So let’s get right to our observations from this joint practice — the first time these teams have practiced together since 2005, when they brawled.

• More injuries. The practice was fairly uneventful from a fighting standpoint. Which is to say, there were no fights. But the Giants continued to deal with significant injuries, as has been the case throughout coach Brian Daboll’s first camp.

The latest — outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari.

He pulled up during conditioning sprints with what appears to be a lower right leg injury. He had to be helped off the field at the end of practice, after trainers examined him.

This is obviously not good, especially since the Giants already might not have their other starting outside linebacker, Kayvon Thibodeaux, for the Sept. 11 regular season opener at the Titans. Could both Thibodeaux and Ojulari be sidelined for that game? It’s possible.

Ojulari had looked good recently, after beginning camp on the non-football injury list with a hamstring issue. He missed the first two and a half weeks of camp before returning to practice Aug. 14, about a week and a half ago. Now, he is hurt again. Brutal.

Another notable new injury Thursday, though it doesn’t seem as serious — slot wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. He worked with the starters, as usual, during a walk-through period at the start of practice. But he didn’t participate in team periods — and also sat out the conditioning sprints.

• What about the other injured guys? Well, these Giants missed Wednesday’s practice: center Nick Gates (broken leg/PUP list), offensive tackle Matt Peart (torn ACL/PUP list), Thibodeaux (sprained MCL), safety Dane Belton (broken collarbone), wide receiver C.J. Board (ribs), offensive lineman Ben Bredeson, kicker Graham Gano (concussion), left guard Shane Lemieux (foot), offensive lineman Garrett McGhin, receiver Darius Slayton, outside linebacker Elerson Smith (foot), outside linebacker Jihad Ward, cornerback Rodarius Williams, and receiver Kadarius Toney.

Gano seems like he will be fine for Week 1, since he was on the practice field Wednesday, as he progresses through the NFL’s post-concussion assessment protocol. Toney participated in position drills Wednesday, but sat out team periods.

Of those 12 non-PUP list players, these two returned to team periods Thursday: Slayton and Toney. Slayton got a bunch of team periods reps, so you could say he was a full participant. Toney got only a few team periods reps. But unlike Slayton, he participated in the conditioning sprints. Toney has practiced fully very sporadically in this camp, and Thursday continued that trend.

These nine players continued to be fully sidelined Thursday: Thibodeaux, Belton, Board, Bredeson, Gano (though he had his helmet), Lemieux, McGhin, Smith, and Williams.

It appeared Ward was limited, as he at least did individual drills. The Giants need him, considering how thin they are at outside linebacker right now. Oshane Ximines worked opposite Ojulari with the defensive starters during Thursday’s walk-through period.

As for receiver Sterling Shepard — who is coming off a torn Achilles tendon and returned to practice Thursday — he didn’t get any team periods action Thursday, as planned. The Giants are going to bring him back slowly, but it certainly appears the could play in Week 1.

Here’s the updated version of the Giants’ injured reserve list: receiver Collin Johnson (torn Achilles), offensive lineman Marcus McKethan (torn ACL), inside linebacker Darrian Beavers (torn ACL), receiver Marcus Kemp (hamstring), tight end Andre Miller (broken forearm), and tight end Ricky Seals-Jones (toe).

Receiver Robert Foster (hamstring) is no longer on the Giants’ IR, because they released him Wednesday with an injury settlement.

• How did Daniel Jones and the offense look? Very good. Jones had a nice practice, even with Robinson and Toney barely practicing — and Johnson now done for the season. For much of practice, Jones’ top three receivers were Kenny Golladay, David Sills, and Richie James.

It’s been an uneven summer for Jones, but he did well Thursday. He got 23 reps and completed 11 of 12 passes with one interception and three sacks. Jones started practice 11 of 11 before being picked off by Bryce Hall on a fade route pass for Kenny Golladay to the end zone — the last play of practice.

John Franklin-Myers “sacked” Jones twice, and Carl Lawson got him once. Jones performed admirably under pressure, which is notable, because the Jets have a pretty darn good defensive line. One of Jones’ better passes Thursday came on a quick-release throw to Sills, with Jacob Martin bearing down. Later, Jones got the ball off to Sills, as Lawson rushed into the backfield.

Jones hasn’t had a ton of strong days in this camp, but Thursday was one of them. Remember, this was Jones’ first time this summer going against an opponent’s starting defense, because the Patriots and Bengals played their backups in preseason matchups with the Giants.

(By the way, Sills caught five of Jones’ 11 completions on Thursday. Sills has performed well lately.)

Now, the Giants just have to hope that Robinson and Toney can get back on the field with Golladay for Week 1. That trio — along with Shepard — can give the Giants a more-than-decent receiver group, provided they all can stay healthy, which obviously isn’t a given.

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• Offensive line lineup. This was the first-string line, from left to right: Andrew Thomas, Devery Hamilton, Jon Feliciano, Mark Glowinski, and Evan Neal. So Hamilton — and not Joshua Ezeudu — continues to get the starting reps at left guard, with Lemieux out.

Ezeudu, who has dealt with an injury lately, sat out team periods Thursday but participated in individual drills. Ultimately, it would be a surprise if Hamilton got the Week 1 start over Ezeudu, if Lemieux is unable to return for that game.

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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.

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