The Giants have not given up on running back David Wilson, their 2012 first-round draft pick, even though on Thursday the team placed him on season-ending injured reserve as he deals with a herniated disk in his neck.
The hope and belief is Wilson’s neck issue is similar to the one that befell Mathias Kiwanuka in 2010, when he played in only three games because of a bulging disk in his neck. Kiwanuka hasn’t missed a game since.
The Giants do not believe this is a career-threatening situation for Wilson, but the injury has always been viewed as a serious one. After missing three games, Wilson last week was re-evaluated and the conclusion was, while his neck was improving, he could not yet be cleared medically to return to the field. Coach Tom Coughlin called it “a holding pattern,’’ and said, from what he has been told, Wilson will not need surgery.
It was a dismal season for Wilson. He played in only five games and was not productive (44 rushing attempts, 146 yards and one touchdown). He also caught two passes for eight yards. Wilson had been the starting running back, but he lost two fumbles in the season-opening loss to the Cowboys and never got untracked before he got hurt.
The timing of Wilson going on IR corresponded with Andre Brown getting activated from short-term IR. Brown had been sidelined with a fractured left fibula suffered in the preseason finale against the Patriots.
“A healthy Andre Brown that’s playing well will be a significant contribution to our offense,” offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. “It looks like he’s physically running pretty well. You can still see that he’s got to make a few of the things that happened very naturally, right now are not happening as natural as usual: his reads, his awareness of some of the things that are going on. But you can see him. He’s a good football player. When he’s healthy, he helps us. He can run. He’s big enough to block. He catches the ball well. He’s an all-around guy that would … certainly his absence hurt us early on.’’
Defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, bothered by a knee issue, was also put on season-ending IR. Rogers’ roster spot was filled by activating defensive tackle Markus Kuhn off the physically unable to perform list. Kuhn tore his anterior cruciate ligament Nov. 11 last season against the Bengals.
Rogers, a 13-year veteran, probably has reached the end of the line. He missed all of last season after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg. This season, he had been part of a defensive tackle rotation that has played very well against the run. Kuhn, a seventh-round draft pick in 2012, played in 10 games with one start as a rookie.