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Today's edition of The Mailbag on Giants.com.
Ahmad Bradshaw has had two huge games in a row and David Wilson will probably get more carries in the upcoming games. My question is what happens to Andre Brown when he returns? He played well when he had a chance early in the season. Is there room for three running backs, or did Brown's injury cost him a chance to play?
-Jerry
Quite honestly, I'm not sure what will happen. But as long as Bradshaw is producing as he did against Cleveland and San Francisco, he isn't going anywhere. Wilson is going to be good and I think his workload will increase (as long a she holds onto the ball). I'm not sure where Brown will fit into the mix. Tom Coughlin said early in the season he would go with the hot hand. If there's a game in which Bradshaw is struggling a bit and they don't want to give Wilson too many carries, then Brown might fill the void. But keep in mind that Bradshaw is far superior to the other two in pass protection, and that could keep him on the field even when the ground game isn't producing big yardage.
Obviously, the team has been banged up early on this year, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. In one of your earlier mail posts I believe you said a team can designate a player on IR/PUP to return after Week 8. Have the Giants designated such a player, such as possibly a Chris Canty, obviously if his knee issues are taken care of?
-Chris
You are mixing up two different lists and two different rules. Chris Canty is on the physically unable to perform list (as is Travis Beckum). According to NFL rules, the earliest players on reserve/PUP can be activated is the day after the sixth regular season weekend. That is today, October 16. From October 16 up until the day after the ninth regular season weekend (November 6), players on reserve/PUP may begin a 21-day practice period before a decision has to be made whether to activate, terminate, or keep them on the reserve/PUP list. Canty is expected to practice for the first time tomorrow, which will start his 21-day countdown.
Injured reserve is different than PUP. Players on injured reserve are out for the season. This year, however, the NFL said each club may designate one player on a short-term IR, which would enable that player to return after eight weeks. The Giants have yet to designate a player for short-term IR. Tom Coughlin was asked if Kenny Phillips was a candidate, but he said the club expects Phillips to return in less than eight weeks.
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