By Ralph VacchianoThe Giants officially placed safety Kenny Phillips on season-ending injured reserve Thursday afternoon, and announced they have claimed safety Aaron Rouse off of waivers.
The news that the season is over for Phillips, the second-year pro, has been expected all day, but still comes as a shock considering it was just Wednesday afternoon that he said he was only sitting out practice for "precautionary" reasons. However, he was examined by doctors and had another MRI which revealed that the "patella femoral arthritis" in his knee has gotten worse.
According to the Giants, Phillips has not yet decided how he wants to treat his condition. According to an NFL source, surgery is being considered, and apparently it would be a "microfracture" procedure. It's not clear how long his recovery would be if he decided to go that route.
"I really feel for Kenny because he had worked so hard during the offseason to prepare himself for the '09 season," Giants GM Jerry Reese said in a statement released by the team. "He had a great camp and was just beginning to come into his own and showed flashes of being one of the premier safeties in the NFL. We expect him to recover from this setback and come back stronger than ever. This league is about making adjustments and we will do that."
"Unfortunately, it's a difficult time for all of us and for Kenny," Tom Coughlin added in the statement. "Our concerns are about Kenny from an emotional standpoint, because this morning he looked like he'd lost his best friend. He's really down. But it's something the doctors felt was needed to be corrected right now, so what's in the best interest of the player is being done. I'm sure he'll rehab and be back with us in the spring."
Phillips, the 31st overall pick in 2008, was obviously stunned by what the doctors told him yesterday. On Wednesday he insisted that his problematic left knee suffered no setbacks during his brilliant, two-interception game in Dallas on Sunday night. He said he missed practice on Wednesday for "precautionary" reasons, part of the Giants' plan to "manage" his knee problems this year.
He had no idea his season would be over 24 hours later.
"It never crossed my mind, ever," he said. "I knew the situation. I just felt I could push it through the season. So to get this news is a real shock."
With Phillips out, the Giants' secondary became dangerously thin since they only had two other safeties - C.C. Brown and Michael Johnson - on their active roster. That led to the waiver claim on Rouse, a 6-4, 227-pounder who has played in 27 games and started 11 times since the Green Bay Packers drafted him out of Virginia Tech in the third round in 2007. He even had nine tackles in the Packers' loss to Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.
Source : NYDailyNews.com
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