According to Ralph Vacchiano the Giants have put S Kenny Phillips on IR, losing him for the year. The Giants have claimed Aaron Rouse off of waivers. Rouse, who is 6’4” 227, started in 11 games for the Packers since being drafted in the 3rd round in 2007. He had 9 nine tackles this past Sunday against Cincinnati. Still the news here is the loss of a young emerging star:

“I really feel for Kenny because he had worked so hard during the offseason to prepare himself for the ‘09 season,” Giants GM Jerry Reese said in a statement released by the team. “He had a great camp and was just beginning to come into his own and showed flashes of being one of the premier safeties in the NFL. We expect him to recover from this setback and come back stronger than ever. This league is about making adjustments and we will do that.”

The term “microfracture” surgery has been thrown around. A procedure that can trake up to a full year to recover from. Phillips was stunned by the news :

“It never crossed my mind, ever,” he said. “I knew the situation. I just felt I could push it through the season. So to get this news is a real shock.”

The Giants got through injuries to Mathias Kiwanuka and Jeremy Shockey in 2007 to win a Superbowl, but to pretend this won’t effect the team would be silly. Like in 07 the Giants will have to have someone step up and replace Phillips like Kevin Boss did in 07. The question is, with an already depleted secondary do they have the depth to cover for this injury. Normally I would say the defensive line can cover for the loss, but without Tuck, Alford and Canty that seems less likely. Fortunately the Giants are hitting the soft part of the schedule right now, and should be a lot healthier in November. Not the Mets just yet.