The New York Giants linebacking corps could get a boost this week as David Mayo (knee) becomes eligible to return to the active roster fro m injured reserve.
Mayo has been on IR since Sept. 6 after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee during training camp. Under the new injury rules, players are eligible to return after three games and should the team choose to bring them back to practice, they have 21 days to activate them to the 53-man roster.
Head coach Judge said they could have a decision on Mayo as early as Tuesday.
Mayo played in all 16 games and started in the last 13 games replacing the injured Ryan Connelly. Mayo was second on the Giants with a career-high 80 tackles (50 solo), including two sacks.
“We’ll kind of look and see where that goes,†head coach Joe Judge said. “He’s with the trainers. I know he’s been working hard. I see him around the building. I don’t get a lot of time with him on the grass, but they say he’s working his butt off every day and improving on a daily basis. We have to look and see where he’s at. For us, it’s in his best interest to make sure that when we start that 21-day clock, that he’s in a position that he’s not going to have any setbacks that would take him past that 21-day clock. I want to make sure we do the right thing by him by not rushing him back before he’s fully ready, and that would keep him possibly off the field for the entire year. I want to make sure we go ahead and do right by him.â€
Two other injuries to watch are safety Jabrill Peppers (ankle) and left tackle Andrew Thomas. Peppers turned his ankle on a special teams during a 49ers’ field goal attempt in the first quarter and did not return.
Thomas came out of the game during the final series and was replaced by another rookie, Matt Peart. Judge did not disclose if there was any physical issue with Thomas.
“I’d say with Andrew, you guys asked about him yesterday, he did finish the game,†Judge said. “There was nothing significant to really go over today with the trainers. Jabrill, I don’t have a timetable on him for anything. We’re going to evaluate him day to day. We’ll see where he is. He had that lower leg. They’re going through a couple more things with the doctor this afternoon, but it looks like it could go either way at this point right here.â€