It’s been a tough few days for the New York Giants. First, they lost a game they should have won against the Washington Redskins. Then they find out on Monday that Shane Vereen will likely be out the rest of the year due to triceps injury.
Replacing Shane Vereen will be difficult. He was second on the team in receptions last season with 59, and he was the Giants leading rusher this season.
But the Giants feel confident the rest of the running backs on their roster will be able to step up in Vereen’s absence.
Head coach Ben McAdoo has stated that the team will replace Vereen by committee. All of the Giants running backs are versatile and can catch passes coming out of the backfield.
This is one of the reasons the Giants kept Orleans Darkwa and Bobby Rainey and cut Andre Williams prior to the season because they wanted all of their running backs to have the ability to catch the ball. With Vereen’s injury that decision has turned out to be a wise one.
With starting running back Rashad Jennings possibly missing Monday’s game at Minnesota, Orleans Darkwa will likely make the first start of his career. Darkwa had a solid game against the Redskins gaining 53 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown. Despite carrying the ball only 56 times in his career, Giants feel confident in Darkwa being the lead back for the time being.
Bobby Rainey will take over Vereen’s third-down role as a pass catcher, and could get around 5-7 carries a game.
Then there’s rookie fifth-round pick Paul Perkins who was active for the first time this season against Washington. When the Giants drafted Perkins, they believed he could be their running back of the future. He struggled in the preseason with holding onto the ball, but Ben McAdoo said Perkins is ready to step up.
The Giants may elect to acquire another running back for depth, but as of right now they’re confident with the running backs they have.
“We’re going to evaluate the roster here,” McAdoo said. “We have a long week. So we have an extra day,” via Jason Raanan of ESPN.
The loss of Vereen is a big blow for the Giants. But they do have the necessary pieces to move forward without him.
