Loading ...After experiencing some swelling in his surgically repaired knee early in training camp, New York Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas was sent to see a series of specialists for their opinion on the extent of the damage. All Doctors concluded that Thomas had not re-torn his ACL and did not immediately need surgery. Head coach Tom Coughlin called the situation the "best case scenario" and a 3-8 week timetable was set for Thomas' return.
Last Friday, Thomas began running in a pool and happily called it "progress." He appeared to be on schedule for his return and, to date, had suffered not additional setbacks. Unfortunately, things may not be as rosy as they appear.
During a Thursday Q&A session with fans, Paul Dottino of WFAN dropped some bombs about Thomas' progress, timetable and possible return this season.
"Indefinite … he hopes [for a] mid-season [return]," Dottino tweeted. "[Giants] May have to [place him on IR]."
A mid-season return, which now sounds like the best case scenario, would mean Thomas doesn't return until early November. It would also mean Thomas took nearly 13 weeks (14 from the time of the injury) to recover from an aggravation of his ACL which was only slated to take 3-8 weeks.
Given the uncertainty of defensive tackles Chris Canty, Marvin Austin and Shaun Rogers, as well as the injury concerns of offensive lineman Will Beatty, the Giants find themselves in a tough spot. There are not enough spots available to keep all of these players on the active 53-man roster (Canty excluded if he remains on PUP), so they may be forced to place one or more on Injured Reserve. And if Thomas truly can't return until November, he seems like a likely -albeit it unfortunate- candidate.
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Yeah, I don’t see any way around this
unless they think he’ll be back and healthy by week 5, they almost have to IR him
I’m really surprised they have waited this long given the fact that he only got in something like 2 or 3 practices before going down and as we’ve come to appreciate, it often takes 2 years to recover from these injuries
then there is Hixon who only got in 2 games last year
so far so good this year but it seems like he has barely played
sad what these ACL’s do to promising careers, but so it goes
How many players can be on the PUP? Wouldn’t they do that to see where he is mid season before the IR?
Aaah nevermind forgot since he started practice he is not eligible
Heartless as it sounds, I think IRing Thomas is a no-brainer.
Austin… Beatty… the Giants have already dedicated enough roster spots to players with lingering uncertainty over their health concerns. They can hardly afford to carry another.
If he had started the preseason on PUP – as did Canty – then it would make sense to wait the additional six weeks before making such a decision. But the good ship PUP has already sailed.
Frankly, nobody knows what to expect of Thomas once he’s OK’d to resume playing. The chances that he’s going to pick up where he left off as the Pro Bowler in waiting he was in 2010 are miniscule. The far more likely scenario is that his play will be severely compromised, the structural integrity of his knee still very much in doubt (if his knee gave out during a no contact practice how are we to assume that it will withstand the rigors of an actual NFL game?)
I like the guy put this is a cruel game and sometimes cruel decisions must be made. Terrell Thomas is now a luxury that this team can no longer afford.
sadly, I agree
he is probably better off sitting out the year and rehabbing then signing a 1 year deal in ’13 either with us or someone else
the Giants may actually release him outright
+1
It’s not heartless is business. It’s one thing if he’s out a month but another thing half a season. You only hold a roster spot for Eli in this situation.
It’s sad that might be it for TT. He will get a training camp chance but it will be like Steve Smith. If the union voted for the new IR more that would change everything for TT.
I’m not optimistic about TT this year. Too injured … too soon. I think we’ve been viewing a lot of guys through ‘fan goggles’.
Canty, Rogers, TT, Boley, Beckum, Beatty … we could even add a couple more.
Maybe it’s time we stopped holding our collective breaths and moved on ?
I don’t care about Rogers or Beckum
Canty and Boley are real disappointments
Boley because he has what appears to be a chronic hammie which means he’s always one sprint away from the sidelines; Canty because he has the mystery knee
Beaty seems way to fragile to me
a foot in ’10; an eye last year, now a chronic back
Canty and Boley. Both guys … excellent players … both guys … hurt a lot … both guys … over 30.
If Canty gets healthy and stays healthy then I’d offer a restructure to keep him. Boley … I’m a big fan, but we need the cap dollars to keep Victor and Kenny.
If it’s a matter of Osi or Canty then it’s bye bye Canty.
Two non-playing veterans … Canty and Boley … combine for a $10,000,000 cap hit this year. Next year it rises to $10,500,000.
Nothing against either of these guys. I really like them both. And when healthy they’re top performers. But when are they going to be healthy?
Cruz! and Philips … among others … are free agents next year.
2013 … shaping up as the year of hard decisions.
It will definitely be hard to replace everyone. However, I feel it’s easier to replace Boley than someone like Cruz or Phillips. Canty is a unique situation because of his size. The guy may not pad the popular stats (tackles, sacks), but he really makes it easier for the rest of the guys on the DL to wind up getting those #’s. Not to mention how easily he can knock a ball down with those long arms. The problem now is that he’s getting dinged up and is he really worth all that money? If he’d somehow restructure the contract then fine, but at some point he’s going to have to play. There are already guys on the roster who could replace Boley (at least to a certain extent), so I don’t see him here forever unless he takes a significant pay cut. The difference between Cruz/Phillips and the next best guy on the depth chart is huge. You keep the guys that are harder to lose and those are Cruz, Phillips, and Nicks.
I have been saying those two along with Rolle and Diehl are shaky for next year.
I disagree … mainly because they play … game in game out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a restructure though. Not one bit. But Rolle is a mainstay … and Diehl is worth his money.
I can see that more with Diehl though it also depends upon how Beatty/Brewer play and develop. Rolle I just don’t know if he will take a pay cut. I heard him say he wouldn’t before. Canty would also be offered a pay cut.
Yep, it really depends on a restructure. Both are looking at $6-7 mil of cap each. We can’t do that and keep Cruz and Philips. They could work something with Diehl too, but it would probably involved an extension.
What troubles me is that we’re gambling the future on not just a couple, but several injured players. There are way too many of them.
norm is right … it’s a cruel NFL world. TT is never going to be TT again … think Steve Smith. It’s not happening … and the others are in similar situations. Maybe a couple will overcome it … all of them certainly won’t.
And how many of these oft-injured, fragile types can a team absorb?
Bradshaw, Barden, Hixon, Beckum, Beatty, Canty, Austin, Rogers, Boley, TT.
None of them are going to play a full year. It’s sad … these are mostly good, solid guys. But at what point does Reese do a “Seubert-O’Hara” on them?
If Wilson proves himself capable this year then I truly think this is Bradshaw’s final year. Barden won’t make this team. Hixon is here for just 1 year. Beckum will probably get cut when he’s done with PUP. Beatty is an interesting one because he’s still young and has what you want for the position, but the injuries are getting annoying — what good is he if he cant suit up? The same goes for Canty and Boley — each of them are getting older and are very expensive. Austin needs to prove he can stay healthy because he lost out on last season and is now a few years removed from playing the game. I don’t think Rogers has much left in the tank and doubt he could even beat out Marcus Thomas for a job at this point. Then there’s TT who *could* come back, but the fact that he can’t be put on the PUP list makes it really, really likely that he gets put on IR. It sucks because he’s talented and adds so much depth, but we’ll be losing another player as we wait for him to get healthy.
Cuts will be made. Like you pointed out earlier we do have lots of players we need to lock up who mean much more to the team at this point. Cruz, Nicks, Phillips to name a few. I’m not going to lose those guys because these high priced guys can’t stay healthy and it’s like they’re taking up 2 spots since we need to carry extra players at their positions…
I think Bradshaw, Canty and Boley shouldn’t been grouped with the rest. While they have had some injuries as Giants they have played most of the time and they play important roles when they do. Yes, they are injury concerns but they all proven to be high level players.
Beatty is in his own group becasue while IMO he’s proven he can play at a high level we have seen so little of it that there should be concern. Also he’s the one with the most questions behind him.
TT was signed becaused we hoped he could return to the player he was. We only paid him 2 mil this year and had many CBs on the roster just in case. So why it looks bad, we were more than prepared to advance without him.
Austin is a player we hope does big things in the future but at most he was expect to just see limited snaps. Once we signed Rodgers and then Benard we should have understood that Austin wasn’t expected to be our 3rd DT.
Barden is an end of the roster WR so if he makes the team and gets hurt replacing him with aPS player or a street free agent is no big deal.
Beckum will be on PUP. I think he’s only being kept around in case injury arises for our TEs. It’s a good just in case player to have. But if no one gets injured he’s gone once he comes off of PUP.
It’s true … they’re all individuals, and have unique histories. Each one has to be evaluated in light of their specific circumstances. But for the purpose of argument they do comprise a rather large cluster of players who are not performing.
Well the good thing is assuming we do IR TT this opens up a roster spot. It also means now we really need better play from our 5 CB, assuming Coe is our 4th. I’m not confident our 5th CB is on this roster. Or the player that really can come out of nowhere and grab the 5th spot is the Scott kid if he can show some PR/KR abilities and show ability to play slot CB. With Tryon’s struggles that 5th CB spot is completely up for grabs.
Rodgers is not going to be on this roster but we will monitor him and we need him down the road he should be available.
I think now we start the year with 8 DBs (5 CBs, 3 Safeties) and add Sash when his suspension is over.
O’Hara is the perfect case. In all the years I watched training camp up in Albany … not once did O’Hara fully practice. He was always on the sidelines … on the bike … not in pads. They had to walk on eggs around the guy.
To his credit he sucked it up for the regular season. He was a tough, hard competitor who left his blood on the field. There was nothing not to like about him. But he was chronically hurt. And finally we had to throw in the towel.
And this guy was a Pro Bowler who played hurt. He had amazing heart.
Most of the guys mentioned don’t have near the cujones of O’Hara.
Krow – if you look at our division the whole division has been banged up this preseason. It seems like many teams are banged up. I know your concern is with the Giants but I think it’s just the NFL in general. At least for most of the people mentioned we are good replacements in line if needed. I think winning in todays NFL is about depth. Here and there you will get a team that just had good injury luck but most of he time in todays nfl it’s quality depth that wins.