The Giants just lost their kick returner for the season, and that's the part they'll feel first
The Giants beat Arizona 36-24 on Sunday. Late in the first half, Braxton Berrios went down with a foot injury, and by the time he posted to Instagram, the news was already the worst kind: season-ending surgery on his foot/ankle, ending his 2026-27 season. The team's kick returner and a wide receiver, out for the year in Week 4.
Here's where I'd push back on how this gets framed. The easy story is receiver depth. The real story is the return game. Berrios' offensive role sits inside a rotation; the kick return job doesn't work that way. It's one player, one set of reads, one set of hands back deep. You can absorb losing a fourth or fifth target far more easily than you can absorb losing the guy who fields every kick. The Giants now have to solve that in-season, and midseason returner shopping is a thin market.
Worth noting how little this cost them Sunday, which is exactly why it's easy to underrate. Arizona's defense actually showed up: Josh Sweat and Zaven Collins each got home for a sack, Collins recovered a fumble, and Budda Baker picked off a pass and broke up two more. None of it mattered because Jacoby Brissett threw three interceptions and finished with a 31.8 QBR. The Giants won by 12 with their returner gone for the second half. That's the trap. They got away with it once.
One thing I want on record: I'd bet the Giants look outside the building for the return job rather than promote from what's already on the roster. That's the move a team makes when it treats special teams as a phase and not an afterthought, and this roster can't afford to treat it as an afterthought.
Berrios loses a full season. The Giants lose the one spot on the depth chart with no natural understudy. Guess which is harder to replace.
