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New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson attended a New York Knicks game on Friday night despite being ruled out of the team’s Week 18 game due to illness the same day.
Johnson, 24, did not play in the Giants’ 34-10 Week 17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders due to illness and did not practice all week. NFL fans took to social media, speculating whether the Giants were keeping Johnson out under the guise of illness to help pursue a higher draft pick.
The sophomore tight end added fuel to the fire, reposting a photo of himself on the Madison Square Garden jumbotron and captioning it: “I’m not sick.”
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New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson (84) practices before the game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on December 21, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
The Giants said Saturday that Johnson has an infection, which is designated as an illness on the injury report, but that he does not have the flu or COVID, meaning he can be around other people without being a risk. Johnson first appeared on the injury report with an illness last Friday.
“He still has a little bit of illness and infection that we’re getting over. So he’s trying to clean it up, see where it goes,” interim head coach Mika Kafka said of Johnson, according to The Athletic.
With a loss last week, the Giants would have clinched the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, regardless of the results of Week 18. However, they defeated the lowly Raiders, meaning the results of Week 18 have major implications on the draft.
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New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson (84) catches Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (IMAGE)
If the Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, they could fall as low as No. 7 in the draft order. If the Giants win and the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Washington Commanders lose, they will drop to the No. 7 spot.
If the Browns, Titans, Cardinals, Jets and Commanders win their respective games, a Giants victory would be less consequential. For example, if the Browns and Titans win, and the Cardinals, Jets and Commanders lose, then the Giants would drop to No. 5 with a win over the Cowboys.
If the Giants lose, they still have a slim chance of getting the No. 1 pick. For the Giants to get the first overall pick, they would need the Raiders to win and two of the following four things to happen: the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers, the Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals, the Atlanta Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints, or the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions.
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All of those four games impact the strength of the team’s schedule compared to the Raiders.
Still, if the Giants lose to the Cowboys, the lowest they can pick is No. 2 overall. With a win jeopardizing the team’s chances of landing a No. 1 pick, Johnson’s attendance at the Knicks game was notable, as fans wondered if the tight end had an illness.
Johnson, who has five drops this season, has shown some playmaking ability, with 45 receptions for 528 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games.
