NFL

Giants brass at injured rookie’s bedside

Deeply concerned with the health and well-being of one of their newest players, the Giants today quickly dispatched a member of their front office to New Orleans for a personal visit with Chad Jones, the rookie safety whose career is likely in peril following a serious car accident.

Charles Way, the former Giants fullback and at present the director of player development, arrived at the LSU Trauma Center and was able to visit with Jones and his family. Jones also was alert enough to speak over the phone with coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese. Reese and his staff, plus Giants medical personnel, have kept in close contact with Jones’ family and others close to Jones ever since he crashed his Range Rover into a streetcar pole early Friday morning in New Orleans.

Jones, 21, suffered serious injuries to his left leg and foot and doctors needed seven hours of surgery to stabilize his condition. Jones had multiple fractures to his left leg, shattering his tibia and fibula, and also had arteries and nerves exposed. Doctors were successful in getting blood flowing back into Jones’ left foot, and his agent, Rocky Arceneaux, said the leg will not need to be amputated but that Jones faces a “very lengthy” rehab.

Jones, a two-sport (football and baseball) star at LSU, was taken by the Giants in the third round of the NFL Draft, the 76th player selected. The Giants were intrigued by his physical ability and were anxious to see how quickly he could progress concentrating on football on a full-time basis. Jones certainly will not play at all this season, and his father, Al, Friday night was not thinking about football when he said, “If it turns out where I think my son can talk, walk and breathe, then he’s going to be just fine.”

The New Orleans Police Department planned on running a toxicology report, but it is believed the department does not suspect alcohol was involved. Two other men in the car with Jones escaped the wreck with only minor injuries.