The comeback story of Chad Jones has hit a serious roadblock. The New York Giants today waived Jones, the safety who was seriously injured shortly after being drafted in the third round by the Giants in 2010. Jones, trying to come back after nearly losing his foot after a horrific car crash, is still not cleared for football activities. He is listed as waived/failed physical.
"We consider Chad to be part of the Giants family, and we'll continue to work with him in his rehab," general manager Jerry Reese said. "As we've said since his accident, we're thankful he is alive and able to lead a normal life."
Jones suffered multiple fractures and nerve damage in his lower left leg in the accident in New Orleans on June 25, 2010. He underwent several hours of surgery and has spent the past two years in an arduous rehabilitation regimen. Jones spent the last two seasons on the reserve/non-football injury.
"Chad had a severe injury to his left leg, involving a complex tibial fracture with associated injury to muscle, nerves, and vascular structures," said Dr. Scott Rodeo, a Giants associate team physician. "This type of injury is often limb threatening, and can sometimes require amputation. He has made a remarkable recovery to date, with successful salvage of the leg. However, at this time he has residual sensory loss, muscle weakness, and tenuous soft tissue coverage in the involved lower leg. The resultant functional impairment precludes his ability to perform physically at the level required for professional football."
"We would like to thank the Giants organization for the manner in which they have supported Chad since his unfortunate accident two years ago," said Jones' agent Rocky Arceneaux. "Their genuine support and caring has far exceeded their obligations and he and his family will be eternally grateful. Chad is experiencing a minor setback and we expect a full recovery within a few months. He thanks everyone for their continued support and prayers. He will see his teammates on the field soon.""We consider Chad to be part of the Giants family, and we'll continue to work with him in his rehab," general manager Jerry Reese said. "As we've said since his accident, we're thankful he is alive and able to lead a normal life."
Jones suffered multiple fractures and nerve damage in his lower left leg in the accident in New Orleans on June 25, 2010. He underwent several hours of surgery and has spent the past two years in an arduous rehabilitation regimen. Jones spent the last two seasons on the reserve/non-football injury.
"Chad had a severe injury to his left leg, involving a complex tibial fracture with associated injury to muscle, nerves, and vascular structures," said Dr. Scott Rodeo, a Giants associate team physician. "This type of injury is often limb threatening, and can sometimes require amputation. He has made a remarkable recovery to date, with successful salvage of the leg. However, at this time he has residual sensory loss, muscle weakness, and tenuous soft tissue coverage in the involved lower leg. The resultant functional impairment precludes his ability to perform physically at the level required for professional football."
"We would like to thank the Giants organization for the manner in which they have supported Chad since his unfortunate accident two years ago," said Jones' agent Rocky Arceneaux. "Their genuine support and caring has far exceeded their obligations and he and his family will be eternally grateful. Chad is experiencing a minor setback and we expect a full recovery within a few months. He thanks everyone for their continued support and prayers. He will see his teammates on the field soon."
Along with waiving Jones he Giants officially announced the signings of three players who had attended last weekend's rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis. Wide receiver Brandon Collins of Southeast Louisiana, linebacker Jake Muasau of Georgia State and safety Will Hill of Florida have been added to the Giants 90-man roster.
Here is some info on the three players the Giants signed.
Collins, 5-foot-11 and 176 pounds, played two seasons at the University of Texas before transferring to Southeastern Louisiana. In 2011, he caught 61 passes for 746 yards and five touchdowns. As a sophomore at Texas, Collins played in 12 games with three starts and caught 35 passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns.
Muasau, 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds, was voted by his teammates as Georgia State's Most Valuable Defensive Player in 2010 and 2011. An outside linebacker, Muasau is the school's career leader in tackles for loss (16.5) and interceptions (3) and he had 106 career tackles, seven sacks, four fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles. In 10 games in 2011, he collected 56 tackles (39 solo), eight tackles for losses, three sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. He had a career-high 10 tackles against Texas-San Antonio. Muasau played two seasons at Phoenix College but was injured much of the 2009 season.
Hill, 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds, was not selected after declaring for the 2011 NFL Draft following his junior season. In three seasons at Florida, Hill played in 38 games with 15 starts and had 144 tackles (94 solo), four interceptions and 1.5 sacks. In 2008, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman team and led the Gators with 22 special teams tackles. The following year he played in 14 games with five starts at safety. Hill had 42 tackles on defense (31 solo) and again led Florida in special teams tackles with 13. In 2010, he started all 10 regular season games in which he played and was credited with 48 tackles (30 solo).