Giants tight end attends Knicks game despite illness ruling out draft-implications matchup vs Cowboys

Tyler Nubin ran back fumble 27-yards for TD to shrink the New York Giants' deficit against the Minnesota Vikings.

New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson attended a New York Knicks game on Friday night despite being ruled out for the team’s Week 18 game because of an illness on the same day.

Johnson, 24, did not play in the Giants’ 34-10 win in Week 17 over the Las Vegas Raiders due to an illness, and did not practice all week. NFL fans took to social media, speculating if the Giants were holding Johnson out under the guise of an illness to help tank for a higher draft pick.

The second-year tight end added fuel to the fire, reposting a picture of himself on the Madison Square Garden jumbotron and captioning it, "I am not sick."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson (84) practices before the game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 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 he doesn’t have the flu or COVID, meaning he can be around others without being a risk. Johnson was first listed on the injury report with an illness last Friday.

"He’s just still got a little bit of sickness and just infection that we’re just working through. So he’s just kind of 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 secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft regardless of Week 18 results. However, they blew out the lowly Raiders, meaning that Week 18’s results have major draft implications.

RAIDERS' JAMAL ADAMS, GIANTS' JAMEIS