UPDATE (7/30 - 10 AM ET)David Wilson will not practice for the remainder of this week and will not play Sunday night, when the Giants play their preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The Giants running back, who suffered a burner in practice yesterday, will be examined and evaluated on Monday by Dr. Frank Cammisa at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.
Wilson underwent a battery of tests last night at HSS, where he was taken after practice. The Giants' 2012 first-round draft choice was injured when he caught a shovel pass from Curtis Painter, turned upfield with his head down and ran into the back of guard Eric Herman.
On Jan. 16, Cammisa performed a fusion of the vertebrae to repair a herniated disc in Wilson's neck. Wilson was injured last Oct. 6 vs. Philadelphia and missed the final 11 games of the 2013 season.**
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –**
The Giants held their collective breath today after running back David Wilson left practice early with a burner.
Any injury to the nerves of the neck and shoulder that cause a burning or stinging feeling are called burners or stingers.
Wilson was sent to the Hospital for Special Surgery to undergo a battery of tests on his neck. The 2012 first-round draft choice injured his neck last Oct. 6 vs. Philadelphia and missed the last 11 games of the 2013 season. On Jan. 16, Wilson underwent a fusion of the vertebrae to repair the herniated disc in his neck. He was limited in the team's offseason practices, but was given a full clearance when the Giants reported to training camp on July 21. Wilson showed no ill effects from the first few hits he absorbed on the practice field over the past week.
That changed today, when he caught a shovel pass from Curtis Painter, turned upfield with his head down and ran into the back of guard Eric Herman. Wilson was surrounded by several defensive players and when the scrum separated, linebacker Mark Herzlich had the football and two athletic trainers were running toward Wilson.
"He was cleared, as you know," Coughlin said in his post-practice news conference. "We'll see. I'm not going to speculate what it is and see what the doctors say."
- The Giants were short at wide receiver today. Rueben Randle (hamstring), Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) and Trindon Holliday (leg) all missed practice…Tight end Xavier Grimble returned to practice after missing two workouts with a sore hamstring.
Cornerback Prince Amukamara said he likes the new personalities in the Giants' secondary – plus the brashness of one holdover.
"I would say during this camp we are starting to tune to our swag," Amukamara said. "With the addition of Walter Thurmond III and Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, they definitely bring a different dimension to our defensive backfield and it's pretty contagious. Especially Charles James II, he gets his arm tugged pretty well."
James played in 12 games – mostly on special teams – as a rookie last season and is fighting for a roster spot. Although listed as the fourth-string right cornerback on the depth chart, James helps give the secondary much of its personality.
"I believe that you are only as great as the weakest, and I am not saying Charles James II is the weakest, but Charles James II definitely picks us up," Amukamara said. "He definitely plays with a chip on his shoulder. Every play, he has that 'undrafted mentality' and anytime he gets on the field he is trying to prove something."
- From 2005-12, Mike Patterson started 106 of the 121 games in which he played for the Philadelphia Eagles (including postseason games). In the last two years, he started just once in 17 appearances.
But this year, Patterson could again be a regular starter. With Linval Joseph now playing for the Minnesota Vikings, Patterson, entering his 10th NFL season, is the new starter in the middle of the Giants' defensive line.
"I am very excited and I am very thankful of this opportunity," Patterson said. "It wasn't cut down or cut short for me. Since I have been able to get back to the starting role, I have been taking it very seriously and personal to keep it. I want to go out there and do my best to go out there and show them that I can still play.
"It is a lot to make up when you lose a guy like (Joseph). I think that we can get it done, most definitely. Just for a fact that everybody is on the same page; all the tackles that we have know what we need to do to get it done. Everybody came out ready to play this year."
- The Giants are off tomorrow and will return to camp on Thursday.
