FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New York Giants running back Andre Brown limped off the field late in the second quarter at Gillette Stadium in the final preseason game of the year. X-rays later revealed that Brown had broken his left leg.
It is the same leg that Brown broke in a November 25, 2012 game against the Green Bay Packers that ended his breakout season for the Giants. He rushed 375 yards on 75 carries and eight touchdowns in 11 games in 2012.
There is no set timetable for his return.
Along with second-year back David Wilson, Brown was expected to fill the void left by longtime Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who bolted to Indianapolis via free agency in the offseason.
Wilson, the thirty-second pick in 2012 draft, rushed for 358 yards on 71 attempts and scored four touchdowns as a rookie seeing limited time.
Using Big Blue’s blueprint of the past, Brown was supposed to be the thundering back to Wilson’s lightning quick speed — a two-back system Giants’ fans have grown accustomed to since the days of Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber to Brandon Jacobs and Bradshaw most recently.
Now the Giants will look to Da’rell Scott, a seventh round pick in 2011, and veteran Ryan Torain to fill void left by Brown and complement the starting Wilson. Scott, who’s drawn comparisons to former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker for his size and speed, missed nearly all of the 2012 season due to a knee injury. Torain played two games for the Giants last year after playing the last three seasons with the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos.
The injury to Brown comes just five days after losing Pro Bowl safety Stevie Brown to a season-ending torn ACL in the team’s 24-21 loss to the New York Jets on Saturday.
Overall, nine Giants starters are injured. Brown joins center David Baas (MCL), tackle David Diehl (thumb), fullback Henry Hynoski (knee) and wide receiver Victor Cruz (heel) are all nursing injuries on offense. On defense safety Antrel Rolle (ankle), cornerback Corey Webster (groin/MCL), defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (back) and Brown are out.
On the bright side, the Giants could very well have five injured players back for the September 8th season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
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