The New York Giants established a strong case in their favor when they secured a 36-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Week 4 game. But that doesn’t mean the Giants were free from trouble. During one of his punt returns, Braxton Berrios injured his foot and went to the sidelines. But little did he know that the treatment for the injury would end the 2026 season for him.
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To make things worse, he got the news on his 31st birthday.
“Today marks another year around the sun for me and I couldn’t be more thankful for the life I live and the people around me that make it special,” Berrios wrote in the caption of the Instagram post. “The ones that make me laugh, give me perspective, and show me what it means to feel loved-thank you.
“Today also brought news that I need a surgery that’ll end my season. Two of my last three seasons ended this way and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t miserable right now. I felt I belonged here this year and everything finally fell in place, now it feels like everything I’ve poured into the last 9 months is gone in the blink of an eye. The timing that I thought had arrived feels like a punishment again but the good news about God is I know it’s coming. Maybe not when we want but always on time. Time to rebuild. Pray for the Bear.”
The wide receiver played at least 16 games for the first five seasons of his NFL career. However, his downfall began in 2024, when he played only six games with zero receptions for the Miami Dolphins. And in 2025, he played only four games for the Houston Texans and recorded six receptions for 37 yards.
Berrios tore his ACL while returning a kick for the Dolphins in a 16-10 losing game against the Indianapolis Colts, back in 2024. And in 2025, he played limited games because he was still recovering from the ACL tear.
The story repeated in the 2026 season, and Berrios exited the season with only four games under his belt. Through these four appearances for the Giants, he was targeted only once. Though he couldn’t complete his only target, he averaged 27.6 yards per kick return. He has five kickoff returns for 138 yards and four punt returns for 10 yards. But after twisting his foot, he was placed on the injured reserve list.
The front office replaced Berrios with wideout Charlie Jones. He recorded two punt returns for 29 yards and three more kickoff returns for 69 yards. But now that Berrios is out for a long time, the Giants need a backup plan.
The New York Giants are already looking to replace Braxton Berrios
Losing Berrios is certainly a significant blow to the Giants’ special teams. Still, the Giants head coach John Harbaugh already suspected that Berrios would remain unavailable for a few weeks, if not the entire season.
“I think our first look would be internally, yes,” Harbaugh said during a presser on Monday. “We have guys that have been here practicing, who are in the system, know what they’re doing or are preparing for this opportunity. I’m sure we’ll turn over every stone, too. But sometimes the best stones are right under your feet.”
The Giants released Odell Beckham Jr. and restructured Chauncey Golston’s contract to make roster room. The front office released Beckham after he registered zero catches across 20 snaps. They wanted to make room for players like Berrios and Charlie Jones on the active roster. But now that Berrios has ended his season, the Giants might take a look at bringing Beckham back.
Berrios’ heartbreaking birthday news proves just how quickly a promising NFL campaign can vanish. And as the WR begins his third consecutive recovery season, the Giants need to make up for his absence in the upcoming game against the Washington Commanders this Sunday.