Terrell Thomas: New York Giants DB’s 3rd ACL Surgery Could End his Career
When Tom Coughlin spoke to reporters after Monday’s training camp practice, the somber tone he took regarding Terrell Thomas and his most recent set back regarding his knee did not seem to inspire confidence. Thomas re-injured his knee and was forced to miss the end of practice on Sunday, and Monday went to a New York hospital to have an emergency MRI done to assess the damage.
The news did not come back positive.
Though it has not been confirmed, early indication is that Thomas has a partially torn ACL, the same ACL in which he was attempting to recover from. Thomas missed the entire 2011 season after colliding with Jason Pierre-Paul in a preseason game. Though he was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power, the damage was done.
The New York Giants have not made a decision as to whether he will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery to completely assess the damage, but that is a high possibility. If so it would mark the third time in Thomas’ playing career he has gone under the knife for his ACL, and it could seriously jeopardize his future.
Thomas Davis of the Carolina Panthers is attempting to come back from a third ACL surgery this year, and the owner of the Panthers is skeptical that anyone can successfully do so.
“So far, no player has ever had three [ACL surgeries] and come back to perform,” Jerry Richardson said.
T2, as fans have come to affectionately call him, was a free agent this offseason whom the Giants decided to bring back. There was always that surrounding risk of the ACL recovery, but team doctors had him on schedule to return for training camp. He was cleared to practice shortly before training camp, and this setback is certainly unexpected.
The team is not on the hook for much money—the only guaranteed money in Thomas’ contract was a $1 million signing bonus—but if Thomas misses the season again, they would be losing one of their best defensive players.
This time, it could be for good.
Jeff is an NFL Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. He contributes mainly to the New York Giants and NFL Rumors pages. He also will occasionally touch on the NBA and humorous videos involving all sports.
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