NFL

Giants safety Brown out for season with torn ACL

It is never good when the day after a game is reserved for appointments in MRI machines. That’s what the Giants had to deal with Sunday as they awaited what turned out to be bad news regarding safety Stevie Brown and his left knee.

Brown went down with a non-contact injury the first quarter Saturday night, attempting to make a cut after completing a 22-yard interception return against the Jets. When a player’s knee gives out without anyone hitting him it means he’s sustained some damage and the Giants braced for the worst. They called it a sprained knee during the game, which means they did not immediately detect that his anterior cruciate ligament was gone. Further tests revealed Brown indeed did tear his ACL and he will need reconstructive surgery, ending his season before it ever started.

It’s a major blow to a defense that seemingly was well-stocked with safeties, although none exhibiting the uncanny sense for the ball that Brown has shown. The next man up is Ryan Mundy, in his first year with the Giants after for with the Steelers. The Giants hope they can uncover something in Mundy that they did a year earlier with Brown. They picked Brown up last season as something of an afterthought, figured he’d be a reserve on defense and a staple on special teams after a season with the Raiders and another with the Colts, playing in a total of 16 games but starting only one of them. Kenny Phillips couldn’t stay on the field, Brown moved in and a team-leading eight interceptions later he was a fixture.

The eight interceptions were the most by a Giants player since Willie Williams had 10 in 1968. Brown also knew what to do with the ball once he got it, as his 307 interception return yards set a franchise single-season record.

Brown, a restricted free agent, signed a one-year tender for $2.02 million and the 26-year old was in for a much greater payday if he played his second season with the Giants the way he did his first. Now, he’ll spend the year rehabbing heading into a season without a contract.

“I feel bad for Stevie Brown,’’ Tom Coughlin said immediately after the game. “He’s been a tremendous addition to our team. The guy has another interception and then has that happen.’’

Suddenly, safety is an issue. The indispensible Antrel Rolle is out with a sprained ankle but he’s set to return soon and should be fine for the Sept. 8 season-opener. Will Hill is a promising and very athletic second-year player but he’s suspended for the first four games for violating the NFL’s drug policy, so forget about him until October. Tyler Sash has had an excellent summer but he’s more of a special teamer than a bona fide defender, although he has shown a nose for the ball. Cooper Taylor, the towering rookie, has been slowed with a strained hamstring, isn’t nearly ready to play and might need to be stashed on the practice squad.

With Brown out, the key will be if Mundy can somewhat fill the void. A 2008 sixth-round pick out of West Virginia, Mundy spent his first four years in his Pittsburgh home town with the Steelers, playing in 64 games but only five starts. He’s a good-looking athlete who was going to make the team as a special teams contributor and now he’s going to have to be much more than that. One wild card in the mix is Terrell Thomas, returning after two ACL reconstructions. In his first game in two years, he held up through 23 plays against the Jets. He’s still a cornerback but he does possess some traits that could make him safety material. The Giants, though, probably need him at corner, as second-year Jayron Hosley was also hurt vs. the Jets, hobbling off with a sprained ankle.