Giants DE Kayvon Thibodeaux Rudely Shuts Down Reporter After Being Questioned About Weak Performance: 'Next!'
With morale so low in the New York Giants' locker room, it can only be up from here … right?
Look no further for insight into the declining team culture than the Giants' 2023 first-round pick, edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. He frustratingly shut down a reporter over a question on Sunday.
KT's move didn't sit well with fans. (Who does he think he is … Deion Sanders?)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 11: Defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux #5 of the New York Giants looks onward during warm ups against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Thibodeaux and the Giants had every reason to hang their heads after an embarrassing debut against the Vikings, losing 28-6.
Speaking with the media after NY's Week 1 loss, Thibodeaux — largely a non-factor on Sunday — took a question from ESPN's Jordan Raanan.
As Raanan asked Thibodeaux about a weak performance from the Giants' pass rush, Kayvon smugly changed his mind, cut off the reporter's question, and asked the rest of the group if they had any queries.
The response from the second-year player didn't go quite as he'd expected.
Raanan asked, "You know that a lot is on you and the pass rush up front, that's what this team is supposed to be built on. How much … "
"Anybody else got questions?" Thibodeaux coldly responded.
Raanan looked at his colleagues following the uneasy rejection.
WATCH:
It's a simple recipe for these players: Lead, Follow, Or Get out of the way.
Even the anti-ESPN crowd had to side with Raanan against the 23-year-old's egotism. And just like Raanan, Giants fans were baffled as to how their revamped defensive line was shut down silly against a Minnesota team led by Sam Darnold.
The Giants' defense allowed Darnold to complete his first 12 pass attempts without much disruption. Darnold finished the game, completing 79.2 percent of his passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Just one game into the new season, KT looks tapped out on patience.
Worst of all, there appears to be no solution to the Giants' woes on offense or defense.
Lined up alongside star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and former Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns, Kayvon managed to go the entire game without registering a tackle. The typically cheery "Sexy Dexy" was able to muster a positive attitude after getting booed off the field, as a collective, by Giants fans in attendance at MetLife Stadium.
It's one thing to have a lousy Week 1 outing. But the Giants' problem is deeply rooted, and players are worn out by their lack of success under coach Brian Daboll and $160 million starting quarterback Daniel Jones.
Jones finished his Week 1 performance with 186 passing yards and two interceptions.
While Daboll's past as an offensive play-caller gives this team a foundation to build on, his control of the locker room has come under serious question, especially since his ‘messy’ split with last year's defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale.
Daboll and Martindale could not resolve their differences after the Giants finished 2023 with a 6-11 record.
Despite the Giants' defense leading the charge on most of their success that year, Daboll managed to tick off his DC by firing members of Wink's staff, which sent the experienced coordinator packing in a messy split from the franchise.
Suppose Daboll is unable to maintain a positive relationship with his coordinators.
In that case, it seems extremely challenging for the third-year HC to guide young Giants players into embracing a team culture built to survive bad performances.
Without a quarterback or coach to turn to, the Giants' roster scrambles for direction, allowing insubordinate players to act with no conviction.
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