New York Giants Place HB Derrick Ward on Injured Reserve: The Giants officially placed HB Derrick Ward on Injured Reserve yesterday. Ward re-fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot the same injury that he suffered in training camp and which forced him to miss the first six games of the 2006 season. Ward suffered the injury in the game against Philadelphia.
New York Giants Sign HB James Sims to the Active Roster: The Giants have signed HB James Sims to the active roster. Sims, a rookie free agent out of the University of Washington, had been on the Giants’ Practice Squad since the beginning of the season. Ward was signed by the Giants immediately after the 2006 NFL Draft.
Three Practice Squad Moves: In addition to signing Sims to the active roster, the Giants have also released DT Sir Henry Anderson, a rookie free agent who had already been waived twice by the Giants this year. Anderson had been re-signed to the Practice Squad earlier this month when the Giants lost DT Marcus Green to the Seahawks.
CB R.J. Cobbs was signed to the practice squad. Cobbs was originally signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2006 NFL Draft out of the University of Massachusetts. The Vikings released Cobbs in July.
The Giants also announced that CB Gerrick McPhearson was placed on the Practice Squad/Injured List with a hamstring injury. McPhearson was drafted in the 7th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Giants and has spent the entire season on the team’s Practice Squad.
Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey Voted to the Pro Bowl: HB Tiki Barber and TE Jeremy Shockey were selected to the NFC Pro Bowl squad.
MLB Antonio Pierce was named a first alternate to the NFC squad, and P Jeff Feagles, OC Shaun O’Hara, RG Chris Snee, and DE Osi Umenyiora were all named third alternates.
It is the third consecutive Pro Bowl for Barber, who will retire at season’s end. He is the first Giants’ running back to be selected three seasons in a row. Barber is second in the NFC and fourth in the NFL with 1,357 rushing yards. Barber is also third on the Giants with 52 receptions for 429 yards. This is the sixth time in his career he has rushed for more than 1,000 yards and caught more than 50 passes in the same season.
“I am both emotional and ecstatic to once again be named to the Pro Bowl,” Barber said. “With this being my final season in the NFL and the final time my brother Ronde and I will be teammates the honor carries even more significance than in previous years. I want to express my sincere gratitude and thank the fans around the country as well as my fellow players and the coaches around the league who voted for me. I look forward to finishing out this season with two important games and competing for the playoffs.”
Shockey was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his five seasons with the Giants. Before Shockey, Mark Bavaro held the record for selections by a Giants tight end with two. Shockey leads the Giants with 64 receptions. He has accrued 626 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions this season.
“It’s a very special honor to be selected to the Pro Bowl,” Shockey said. “There are so many great players in this league and to be voted as one of the best at your position by the fans, the players you play against and the coaches means a great deal to me. It’s nice to be recognized individually after putting in all the hard work it takes to be successful in this league, but what is most important is team success. We have two games remaining on our schedule and we need to play the way we are capable of playing as a team so I can play a lot more football before making the trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.”
The Pro Bowl will be played on Saturday, February 10 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Starting lineups will be announced next month.
Notes: The three players that the Chargers received in the trade for Eli Manning QB Philip Rivers, PK Nate Kaeding, LB Shawne Merriman were all voted to the Pro Bowl yesterday. Manning, of course, was not.
