Once in doubt, David Wilson's career is reportedly back on track. The New York Giants running back has been medically cleared to return from neck surgery that ended his 2013 season, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
David Wilson medically cleared to return to Giants
The Giants running back has been “cleared for everything” after an offseason neck injury put his football future in doubt.
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Wilson learned on Monday morning that he would be able to return to the field for the first time since Week 5 of last season, when a herniated disc in his neck ended his year.
“Coming off an injury, missing a lot of games, I’m definitely anxious to get out there and make plays and score a touchdown and be out there and have fun and win games with my team,” Wilson told Schwartz.
After initial reports indicated no surgery would be required, Wilson went under the knife for a vertebrae fusion procedure in early January. The surgery, in combination with a medical condition called spinal stenosis that narrows the spinal cord, made his football future cloudy.
Giants owner John Mara said in January that he wasn’t counting on Wilson being back as the No. 1 runner. Whether that’s changed in the wake of the medical clearance is unknown, but there’s no doubt that Wilson will have a crowd of competition in the backfield.
The team, knowing that Wilson may not be fully healthy in 2014 and wary of the lack of running back depth exposed by his injury last year, invested heavily in a backup plan this offseason. They brought Rashad Jennings over from Oakland in free agency, then drafted Boston College's Andre Williams in the fourth round.
Peyton Hillis and Michael Cox also remain on the roster.
If nothing else, the depth should allow New York to ease Wilson back in at a comfortable pace.
“We’ve got to wait and see how this thing has affected his overall game,” head coach Tom Coughlin said. “He definitely has a place.”
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