New York Giants Lose WR Amani Toomer for the Season: The Giants have officially announced that WR Amani Toomer will be lost for the remainder of the 2006 NFL due to a partial tear of the ACL in his left knee. It is not exactly known when the injury occurred, although the knee bothered Toomer in game against the Houston Texans on Sunday.
“I didn’t think anything of it,” Toomer said. “It was very disappointing when I got the MRI. This happened before (as a rookie 10 years ago on my right knee). So I kind of knew what it felt like when it happened.”
Toomer was provided the option of having surgery or attempting to rehab the knee without surgery. But he felt not having surgery was too risky. “It’s unstable at this point,” Toomer said. “I just want to fix it. I don’t want to get into the specifics of what happened, but I feel like the best thing to do is to get it fixed. Going out there and not being able to perform to the best of my ability is worse than getting it fixed now and taking the time (for it to heal). I’m disappointed I’m not going to be able to play for the Giants now.”
Toomer is currently tied with HB Tiki Barber for the team lead in receptions with 32. “It’s really disappointing, because I feel I’m on one of the best teams I’ve been on since I’ve been on the Giants,” Toomer said. “Eli (Manning) is doing well, Plaxico (Burress) is doing well, (Jeremy) Shockey is doing well. It seems like everybody is hitting on all cylinders. For me not to be in the mix I’m going to see them out there and winning games, but I definitely want to be a part of it. That’s the way it is sometimes.”
“We all feel badly for Amani,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “Here is a young man who had dedicated himself to having a good year, and he was playing well. He has done anything we have asked of him. His numbers and big plays speak for themselves, but time and time again, he does the things that maybe people on the outside don’t notice as much, but they are the kinds of things that make a difference in the ballgame. When you have somebody who is playing as well as Amani has and is as dedicated to the team as Amani is and you lose him, we are missing an important aspect of our team.”
“I enjoy playing, I enjoy my teammates,” Toomer said. “I don’t see myself not doing it next year. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to start up right where I left off. That’s where my focus is getting my knee as healthy as possible so I can keep on playing and performing to the best of my ability.”
According to The Star-Ledger, the agent for WR Jamaar Taylor has contacted the Giants and let them know that his client is 100 percent healthy and wants to return to football. Taylor was placed on the Reserve/Retired List after continued knee problems led him to retire from the game this past offseason. The paper states that General Manager Ernie Accorsi said he would welcome him back in the future. Meanwhile, the agent for unrestricted WR Ricky Proehl also contacted the Giants regarding his client, but The Ledger suggested that the Giants were not interested. WR Anthony Mix, who is on the Practice Squad, is also an option.
Injury Update: Aside from Toomer, not practicing yesterday were DE Michael Strahan (foot), DE Osi Umenyiora (hip flexor), DE Justin Tuck (foot), LB Brandon Short (quad), LB Carlos Emmons (groin), WR Plaxico Burress (back spasms), and FB Jim Finn (knee).
Burress was expected to practice yesterday, but his back tightened up again.
Strahan has officially been ruled “out” for the game against the Bears on Sunday night. Umenyiora has been downgraded to “doubtful” (he had been “questionable” the previous couple of weeks). Tuck, Short, Emmons, and Burress are “questionable.” Finn is “probable.”
Returning to practice were CB Sam Madison (hamstring) and WR Sinorice Moss (quad). Madison and Moss are “questionable” for the game against the Bears.
Practice Squad Moves: The Giants released TE Charles Davis from the Practice Squad yesterday. To fill his spot, the team signed DE Mathew Rice.
Quotes: WR Plaxico Burress foolishly began dissing his upcoming opponents yesterday. When talking about the Bears’ secondary, Burress said, “They’re not great cover guys. I don’t know why everybody’s acting like these guys are exceptional corners. I’ve played against better guys all year. By far, no It’s definitely not them Just looking at them for the 15, 20 minutes that I have, those guys make plays on the balls that are thrown straight to them, but they’re not just covering guys straight up and just shutting them down They’re very beatable. I’ve seen guys beat them with a lot of separation, so I can’t say that they’re the best guys that we’ve played against so far I’m just looking at film and assessing these guys and saying, ‘We can throw the ball on these guys, make some big plays, and go out and have fun.’ I’m not going to say these guys are great corner guys. I don’t see that.”