At a time when all sorts of machinations are in the works with the Giants’ first-round pick in tomorrow’s opening round of the NFL Draft, word comes that last year’s no-impact top pick, defensive tackle William Joseph, is hurting.
Joseph tore a pectoral muscle on Tuesday while lifting weights during the Giants’ off-season conditioning program. It’s a severely painful and debilitating injury and Joseph will undergo surgery in the next few days to repair the tear. The team says he should be ready to return by the July 29 start of training camp.
On the day he was hired, coach Tom Coughlin had harsh words about injuries, alluding to the ravaged roster he inherited from Jim Fassel. “Injuries are a cancer, let’s face it,” Coughlin stated. “It is something that has to be corrected. It is a mental thing, I believe, as much as anything else.”
This is the first casualty in the team’s new weight-training program that stresses free weights rather than the machine-oriented workouts of the past. Joesph was the 25th overall pick a year ago.
The loss comes at a position where the Giants were already in a state of massive upheaval. Starters Cornelius Griffin (signed by the Redskins) and Keith Hamilton (retired) are gone and defensive end Kenny Holmes remains unsigned. The Giants have already signed free agent defensive tackles Norman Hand, Martin Chase and Fred Robbins and end Lorenzo Bromell.