The season is over for Giants safety Kenny Phillips. He was placed on injured reserve today with patella femoral arthritis in his left knee, four days after intercepting two passes in the Giants’ victory in Dallas.
“It never crossed my mind, ever,” Phillips said of being shut down. “I knew the situation. I just felt I could push it through the season. So to get this news is a real shock.”
To replace Phillips on the roster, the Giants signed Aaron Rouse, who was released by the Packers this past Wednesday. With three safeties on the roster, it figures that C.C. Brown will move into the starting lineup as Phillips’ replacement.
Phillips had been managing with his injury, often not practicing during the week then making his way onto the field on game day. Tom Coughlin repeatedly stressed that the injury was something that must be managed.
“It’s hard to say exactly when (the knee first hurt),” Phillips said. “Everybody gets nicks and bruises in training camp, so that’s just what I thought it was. Swelling occurred, but most people get swelling. As long as it goes down, it’s not a big deal.
“For the most part I was able to do the things that I am used to doing. I had a little bit of restriction from time to time, but that was something that I was going to play with, I learned to play with.”
This is a huge blow to the Giants. Phillips is a rising star and a playmaker in their defensive backfield.
“The most important thing for us right now is to realize it’s an emotional time for Kenny Phillips,” Coughlin said. “He had an excellent training camp. He played the deep ball, really, unlike anybody we’ve had around here. He has two interceptions with two outstanding plays the other night, he leads the team in tackles. His presence is felt in really every category on special teams and defense. He was quietly very strong back in the secondary. We were very excited about what we thought could be a Pro Bowl year for our free safety.
“Unfortunately, it’s a difficult time for all of us and for Kenny. Our concerns are about Kenny from an emotional standpoint, because this morning he looked like he’d lost his best friend. He’s really down. But it’s something the doctors felt was needed to be corrected right now, so what’s in the best interest of the player is being done. I’m sure he’ll rehab and be back with us in the spring.”
This is a significant loss; the Giants are already thin at safety and Phillips is a rising star. The Giants considered him to be the best safety in the 2008 class and took him out of the University of Miami with the 31st pick in last year’s NFL Draft.
“I worked hard this offseason and I felt like this was going to be a big year not only for me, but for the Giants,” Phillips said. “I started the season off pretty well with a few tackles, interceptions and for it to just get snatched away from me like this is real tough.”
The defensive backfield has been plagued by injuries. Starting cornerback Aaron Ross will miss his third straight game this Sunday in Tampa because of a strained hamstring. Kevin Dockery missed the first two games with a hamstring injury and could miss a third this weekend
Rouse, 6-4 and 227 pounds, had nine tackles (seven solo) in Green Bay’s 31-24 loss to Cincinnati last week. He had three solo tackles in the season-opening victory over Chicago.
“You’re not asking them to come in and play the whole game,” defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan said. “There’s so much carry-over from team to team, the kind of defenses that are played. You can get him up to snuff very quickly.”
