SAN DIEGO – Brandon Jacobs‘ return to the Giants certainly hasn’t gone the way he dreamed it would, but he has no regrets and he’s not giving up. He’s even making the cross-country flight with the Giants on Saturday, despite being “doubtful” for Sunday’s game.
The 31-year-old running back may still miss the game against the Chargers, of course. And if he does, it’ll be the second straight game he’s missed and the fifth since he re-signed with the Giants in Week 2. It’s even possible he won’t be able to play again this season.
But Jacobs said last week he’s not ready to shut it down.
“I’m going to go out a soldier and I’m going to go out fighting. That’s just it,” he said. “They’re going to have to drag me through the dirt. Just put me in a body bag and ship me home. That’s it. But do it after the battle is fought.”
Jacobs, in his return from his one-year exile in San Francisco, has rushed just 58 times in seven games with the Giants for 238 yards and four touchdowns. The highlight came on Oct. 10 in Chicago when he rushed 22 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the Giants’ loss to the Bears.
The price of that was high, though, because he pulled his hamstring and missed the next three games, before “wear and tear” set in on his knee. Jacobs has carried only 14 times since then – though he did rush nine times for 75 yards in a loss to the Cowboys two weeks ago. He said the knee will have to be surgically “cleaned out” this offseason, though he insisted it’s “fixable”.
It just may not be fixable soon enough to help him play in the Giants’ final four games, which given his age and the fact that he’s unsigned beyond the end of the season might be the final three games of his Giants – or even his NFL – career.
“I wish like hell my knee was 100 percent,” Jacobs said. “I wanted to come back and be a productive running back for my team. I just wish it was 85 percent. It would be much different. It would be nasty out there.”
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder) and cornerback Corey Webster (ankle) also didn’t make the trip with the Giants, but they were officially declared “out” on Friday. Everyone else travelled, including cornerback Trumaine McBride, who is “questionable” for the game with an injured groin.
