Theo Johnson admits ‘tough’ Giants season took a toll: ‘Not easy’

The 2024 regular season was a tough one for the New York Giants, who finished with a 3-14 record and the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

For much of the rookie class, losing to such a degree was similar to experiencing culture shock. Most were highly successful in college and conditioned to win, so the lack of success took a toll.

“It’s tough coming in every week and trying to put your best foot forward, and falling short is not easy, but it’s hard to win games in this league. I think the struggles that we went through this year gave me a lot of learning opportunities,” tight end Theo Johnson told the CBC. “I’m going to take that into consideration this year, and this off-season, because I don’t want to ever go through that again.”

Johnson, selected in the fourth round, was just beginning to come on for the Giants when he suffered a season-ending foot injury that required surgery.

At the time of his injury, Johnson had four straight games with five-plus targets and five straight games with 35-plus receiving yards.

“I broke my fifth metatarsal in the Thanksgiving game against Dallas, so I had to have season-ending surgery on it. I’m doing great with recovery. I’m almost cleared and a few weeks out from being fully cleared,” he said. “My rookie year came to an end, but I’m back in the right direction now.”

From all the losing to the injury, things did not go the way Johnson had planned or hoped. But with all of that soon to be behind him, the 23-year-old is looking forward to better things in 2025.

“I think I’m going to play a big role, and being able to help turn this organization around and turn this offense around,” he said. “We know what we do is just a matter about going out there and doing it week in and week out.”