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A Homecoming For Former New York Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw

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By @MuscleSportMag

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When you win not one, but two Super Bowl rings with the organization that drafted you, it’s not easy to leave for what may become even greener pastures. Such is the case for Ahmad Bradshaw, who is in his second year with the Indianapolis Colts after six productive seasons with the New York Giants, the two teams that will face one another this Monday night at Met Life Stadium.

Giants general manager Jerry Reese made the difficult business decision to release Bradshaw even after he eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing for the second time in his career. It was a move dictated by the salary cap and a series of neck and foot injuries that made Bradshaw deemed expendable at the time, something that he understood then and still does now.

“You’ve got to realize that the time what they were going through,” he said, according to giants.com. “They had a first round draft pick in David Wilson; they had Andre Brown — younger guys that they felt can handle the task that I left. It didn’t take me long to get over it. It just hurt because I felt that was my family, that I was a big part of that team and I still felt like I had a lot of football left.”

That is blatantly obvious through the Colts’ first eight games this season, with Bradshaw averaging 4.9 yards per carry (371 yards on 76 attempts) and 8.5 yards per reception (264 yards on 31 catches with six touchdowns). The latter being something not high in his repertoire in New York. This is part of Bradshaw’s game that has surprised many people, including Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

“I think he’s caught six touchdown passes, so that’s more than he had his whole career here,” he said, according to giants.com. “Obviously Andrew’s (Luck) doing a good job getting him the ball and Ahmad’s running good routes. They’ve got some good schemes to get him open.”

As far as Bradshaw’s then-replacements on the Giants, Wilson had to retire this past summer due to neck injuries. Brown suffered a leg injury during the 2013 preseason that caused him to miss the first nine weeks of the regular season. He became a free agent and signed with the Houston Texans but didn’t make the final cut. Brown was subsequently suspended by the NFL for eight games after failing a performance-enhancing drug test.

The backfield has been a revolving door for the Giants since Bradshaw left town. In 2013, the unit was so weak that Brown led the way with 492 yards in only eight games. This season, Rashad Jennings was off to a nice start before getting hurt. Rookie Andre Williams has picked up some of the slack in his absence.

Needless to say, it appears that the Giants are probably regretting the Bradshaw transaction.

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