No one talks much about Terrell Thomas when it comes to planning for the 2013 season because no one knows what to expect, so no one wants to jinx anything. No one wants to build up false hopes only to see them crash down the way they did last year.
It is not as if the Giants have forgotten about Thomas, it’s that they cannot with any certainty assume he will make it to the field ever again. A knee can only take so much punishment and withstand only so much damage before it is rendered useless for work in the NFL, and Thomas’ right knee has been torn apart three times. He is attempting to come back from a third reconstructive surgery to repair a shredded anterior cruciate ligament. The odds are stacked against him, as he’s a cornerback, a position that requires extreme agility and two healthy, strong legs.
“I’m very optimistic right now,’’ Thomas said recently. “My knee is doing great, it’s progressing nicely. I think everybody is just crossing our fingers and being very positive.’’
Thomas, 28, is attending the Giants’ organized team activity practices but hasn’t been given the go-ahead to participate in drills or practice. The Giants are not going to rush anything with Thomas, who was a rising star and on the precipice of a mega-contract after amassing 10 interceptions as a starter in 2009 and 2010. He proved the right ACL he tore in 2005 while playing for USC was not a hindrance in any way.
But in an August 2011 preseason game against the Bears, Thomas tore his right ACL again and missed the entire Super Bowl season. After another surgery and another extensive rehab, Thomas was back at it last summer, but he didn’t make it all the way back. Barely a week into training camp in Albany last August, Thomas slipped while covering Domenik Hixon in a drill, a seemingly-innocent misstep that led to the diagnosis of another injury to his right ACL. There were rumblings that perhaps Thomas pushed too hard, came back too quickly. He missed another full season and, following another surgery, signed a one-year, make-good minimum-salary ($630,000) contract, his career hanging on by the width of a thrice-repaired ligament.
“I’ve controlled myself a little bit more,” Thomas said. “Last year, I was killing myself. It worked out, when I went back I was in great shape, when I came back I was in great shape. This year, it’s just being a little more cautious.”
Complicating this comeback attempt is the fact the third ACL reconstruction was a different procedure than the first two, which used a cadaver to repair the torn ligament. This time, Thomas’ own patellar tendon was used, which necessitated an additional surgery and could result in a stronger fit. The rehab, though, is more severe.
General manager Jerry Reese speculated Thomas might be better off at safety, where he can have the play in front of him and where quickness and cutting is not as much of a priority. It shouldn’t be a major transition for Thomas, who earlier with the Giants moved into a safety spot at times when in the nickel defense. For now, where he plays is not nearly as worrisome as if he plays.
“Your knee is in a more unstable situation [at cornerback],’’ Thomas said. “You have to react to the receiver. Safety is more you’re dictating. So I think that’s why Jerry Reese said that. But I already knew I’d switch to safety later in my career just because of my body type, the way I play. So I’m not scared at all. If they tell me I’m going to play kicker, I’ll play kicker.
“I just want to be on the field at this point. It’s all about playing football. So whatever I can do to contribute.’’
There’s a crowd at cornerback, with Corey Webster, Prince Amukamara, Jayron Hosley and Aaron Ross, and the Giants also are four-deep on the depth chart at safety. Thomas expects to get on the field during training camp, and then it remains to be seen how he holds up.
“You gotta get back out there … you gotta jump back on that horse,’’ he said. “I’m not scared at all, man. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.’’