Speaking at the combine this week in Indy, Giants general manager Jerry Reese admitted that DE Mathias Kiwanuka may never play again after suffering a herniated disc in his neck last year. As of now, Kiwanuka has still not been cleared to play by doctors.
"I'm waiting for the doctors' report, everybody's report," Reese said. "And he's got to make a decision, Do I want to play? There's risk period. But when you have a neck injury, you have to be careful."
"He's been all over the place to try to get the right information so he can make the best decision, if he is going to play again next fall. I think there are a couple more doctors that he wants to get some confirmation from and our doctors want to huddle up and make sure everybody is saying the same thing, that everybody is on the same page with that."
Reese said that he is "not out of the woods yet" but that the reports they'd gotten on his progress were positive. Still, as with all neck injuries, it's hard to say. Reese admitted that there's a chance Kiwanuka may never play again.
"It is a possibility. Who knows? When you are talking about neck injuries -- Antonio Pierce, he had a neck injury, boom, it was over just like that. So neck injuries are serious injuries and you have to be careful with those things."
It has been reported that Eagles' CB Ellis Hobbs may retire after suffering a neck injury this past season. This has to be extra tough for Kiwanuka because he's actually an unrestricted free agent this offseason. So had he not had the injury, he would likely be in for a major payday. Now, if he does get cleared to play, he's likely faced with signing a one year deal to prove he's healthy.