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New York Giants Injuries Continue Mounting vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

By Kenneth Teape

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Saying the New York Giants have been hit hard by injuries would be an understatement. Heading into their second preseason game of the summer, the Giants were already without 14 players, with the defensive backs unit being hit the hardest. Well, that number grew in the first half of their game Saturday night by three already.

The first player to go down was linebacker Mark Herzlich. Herzlich was injured on the opening kickoff of the game, in which he sustained a concussion. The worst part about the injury was that it occurred on a touchback, as no return was even attempted. The fact Herzlich was injured on what amounted to nothing is disappointing.

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Herzlich is one of the leaders on the special teams unit, making this injury a big blow there. He has become a main cog on both coverage units as someone Tom Coughlin could rely on. Also, with it being the preseason, Herzlich was set to receive a ton of playing time on defense. While Herzlich makes his biggest impact on special teams, he has grown exponentially as a linebacker in his four seasons with the Giants, and was looking at an increased role there this season. This injury will be a blow to his growth, and an injury that will hurt the Giants if he is forced to miss extended time.

It was not too much longer that the Giants were forced to bring the cart out again, as a player was hurt once again on a kickoff. This time it was UDFA safety Justin Currie. Currie injured his ankle covering the kickoff after Josh Brown knocked through a 51-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining in the first quarter. He was put in an aircast and brought to the locker room and looked to suffer a pretty serious injury.

Currie was a longshot to make the roster, but with the injuries the Giants have sustained in their secondary gave him a huge opportunity to make a name for himself. With Landon Collins and Mykkele Thompson already out, Currie was in line to receive some decent playing time on defense as well as coverage teams. With him sidelined, the Giants are down to only four safeties; Bennett Jackson, Jeromy Miles, Brandon Meriweather and Justin Halley.

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The last, and possibly biggest injury loss, was to Jon Beason. Beason sprained his knee in the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. This is an injury the Giants cannot afford to have, as Beason is the leader on the defense filling the Antonio Pierce role as the middle linebacker in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.

The good news for the Giants and Beason was that he never took his pads off and was seen on the sidelines talking and joking around with teammates. He also didn’t have any wraps or anything like that on his knee, which could all be taken as good signs regarding his health.

The Giants are hoping the injury for Beason is not serious, as we have seen over the last two seasons that they are better with him on the field than off it. The Giants also have a very young defense, and having a veteran such as Beason along with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a must. Hopefully the Giants can have a clean second half in the injury department and avoid losing any more players against the Jaguars.

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