Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux jokes with reporter after awkward exchange

Following a 28-6 drubbing at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux was understandably frustrated.

Not only had his team fallen flat in their season-opener, but Thibodeaux was largely unproductive. He recorded a single QB hit and nothing more.

Immediately after the game, he was asked by ESPN beat writer Jordan Raanan about the pass rush, which the defense is built on, but Thibodeaux was having none of it.

This is unacceptable behavior from Kayvon Thibodeaux.

0 tackles, was asked a completely valid question, and this is how he responds? I thought he wanted to be one of the greats? Not like this.

Back in the days of Tom Coughlin, with those leaders, this would never happen. pic.twitter.com/kZFYIy2mjN

— Anthony Rivardo (@Anthony_Rivardo) September 9, 2024

“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…” Raanan began to ask.

“Anybody else got questions?” Thibodeaux said before skipping over Raanan.

The interaction drew warranted criticism of Thibodeaux but he didn’t let it carry over into this week.

Following practice on Wednesday, Thibodeaux was again made available to the media and appeared to squash whatever perceived beef there was between Raanan and himself.

Kayvon Thibodeaux jokes with @JordanRaanan to begin his availability pic.twitter.com/iFUxupdO3b

— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 11, 2024

“Start this off by saying, me and Jordan Raanan, we’re slap-boxing after this. Charity event. Y’all can buy tickets — get them at Giants.com,” Thibodeaux said with a laugh. “And (senior director of football communications) Dion (Dargin) is going to be the referee.”

“I don’t like my chances,” Raanan joked. “They’re not good.”

After the locker room had closed, Raanan posted about the interaction on X.

“Want no part of this. It won’t end well for me,” Raanan said, adding a few laughing emojis.

With frustrations already beginning to mount in East Rutherford, it was nice to see Thibodeaux and Raanan have a little fun with the whole thing. The lighthearted moment softens the optics from last week but unless the team starts winning, these good feelings will only last so long.